James Taylor: I lost all respect for Kevin Pietersen after he slagged me off to team-mates

Kevin Pietersen came in for more criticism yesterday when ex-England batsman James Taylor called his former team-mate ‘embarrassing’ and a ‘t***’.

Taylor made his Test debut at Headingley in 2012, walking out to bat with Pietersen — who was on the way to his famous 149.

In the latest extract in the serialisation of his new book, Cut Short, Taylor, who retired from the game two years ago because of a potentially fatal heart condition, writes: ‘I touched gloves with Kev. He didn’t give me much. “Enjoy it,” he told me. “Do your thing.”

‘A few days later I heard that, during the innings, he allegedly commented that I wasn’t going to be on the highlights that night. His low opinion of me extended into the dressing room.

'That same day, he apparently slagged me off to other players for not being good enough and batting too slow.’

Pietersen then indulged in what Taylor calls an ‘almighty whine’ during his end-of-play press conference, insisting it was ‘hard being me’ in the England dressing room because of a spoof Twitter account he believed was being operated with the support of team-mates.

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