Ex-ECB chief David Collier rebuffs Kevin Pietersen's bullying allegations

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)'s former chief executive David Collier has reportedly dismissed bullying allegations made in ousted batsman Kevin Pietersen's autobiography.

Collier, ECB's chief executive until last summer, said that concerns over bullying were never raised with him. He added that there were a huge number of opportunities for it to be reported but that never happened.

Pietersen, released by England, has claimed that former head coach Andy Flower had allowed a bullying culture to grow. But Collier, who has been replaced at the ECB by Tom Harrison, revealed that in any professional sport certain managers and leaders do have intensity from time to time, The BBC reported.

Collier said that people that they respect as some of the greatest football managers have been known to be fairly robust in dressing rooms, and added that Flower is an intensely passionate man and has the most superb integrity.

The former ECB boss said that there is no way they could have had the success over this long and successful period if there hadn't been huge respect within that dressing room.

Collier also said that allegations linking England players Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and Tim Bresnan to a parody Twitter account had been fully scrutinised. He said that he has every confidence that that was fully investigated at the time, adding that that assurances were given about that.