Graeme Swann branded all batsmen "pussies" as he finally lifted the lid on his long-running feud with former England team-mate Kevin Pietersen in an explosive interview.
Swann, 44, endured a fractious relationship with Pietersen during their playing days and has revealed that the pair "always hated each other." The South African-born legend isn't the only person to have felt Swann's wrath in a fresh outburst, though, as all batsmen have found themselves in the firing line.
During a drama-ridden period for England in 2012 and 2013, Pietersen allegedly accused the spin bowler of being a 'bully' after shouting at him whenever he misfielded. Swann, however, retorted when speaking to Fox Sports Australia: "Batsmen are all pussies, and they can't ever accept their own failures and hold their hand up when they f*** up in the field and say sorry."
The 44-year-old then went on to reveal: "The [England] batsmen called a meeting and said the bowlers were being mean to us and shouting at us when we misfielded - Kev then used that to say he was being bullied.
"I mean Kev is 6'4, South African, could've easily got in the Springbok team and he said he got bullied. I mean it's absolute b******** and everyone knew it was b********, but people will believe someone if they have a sob story."
Swann and Pietersen's relationship only worsened during England's infamous 2013-14 Ashes tour, as arch rivals Australia recorded a 5-0 whitewash and Swann, alongside team-mate Jonathan Trott, retired mid-series.
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"There was a general undermining of the captain and trying to get the captain (Andrew Strauss) and the coach (Andy Flower) sacked and generally being a bit of a k***, bit of a d*******, but we didn't all know (about the extent of Pietersen's behaviour)," Swann added. "We just thought Kev's Kev but he was being quite nasty behind the scenes and using his friends in the press, it was messy."
Eventually, the divisive Pietersen would end up sacked for his unruly behaviour, having been accused of sending text messages to South African opponents during a series, describing then-captain Strauss as a 'doos', Afrikaans slang which broadly translates to 'idiot'. Swann even claims Pietersen still believes he was behind a parody Twitter account named 'KP Genius'.
"Me and Kev never liked each other," Swann affirmed. "A lot of other people either like him a bit or got on with him but me and Kev always hated each other."
No love lost.
