Botham blames ECB czars for England cricket mess

London, Jan.8 (ANI): Former England cricketer Ian Botham has said that in the last 24 hours, the incidents related to England cricket and its immediate future, are probably the most embarrassing that he has seen, both as a player and as a commentator on the sport.

In an article for the Sunday Mirror, Botham squarely blames the fiasco relating to the Pietersen-Moores disagreement on the "chinless wonders who rule Lord's from behind a desk".

Accusing officials of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) of turning English cricket into "a laughing stock", Botham says: "The events of the last 24 hours have been embarrassing, woeful and shameful."

"It's the buffoons in blazers who are now on to their third England captain in five months. Clandestine meetings of men in suits. Smoke and mirrors in a committee room while another England captain is sacrificed on the altar of cloak-and-dagger politics behind the scenes. It's the faceless clowns who have had to sack an England coach who many people were surprised to see get the job in the first place," Botham adds.

While he feels sorry for Pietersen, Botham says his decision to quit "reflects dreadfully on the people who do the hiring and firing at Lord's."

Pietersen he says did not leak the story about his strained working relationship with coach Peter Moores.

Botham says: "And, I know he did not actually resign until he released his statement shortly before 5.30 p.m. last night - by which time he realised there was no point in carrying on as captain.What was the point of him staying in a job if he was expected to take a bullet for something he didn't say?

When the England and Wales Cricket Board appointed him as skipper back in August, they knew he wasn't going to be a yes man, no man, three-bags-full man," says Botham in his article.

He laments the fact that a skipper with promise has been nipped in the bud, and adds that he too would not have been happy with the squad selected for the forthcoming Caribbean tour. (ANI)