Ricky Ponting not surprised by `poisonous atmosphere` portrayed in KP's autobiography

Former Australia cricket team captain Ricky Ponting has said that the poisonous atmosphere in the England team portrayed in Kevin Pietersen's controversial autobiography has left no one has been less surprised than their fiercest rivals.

Australia's batsmen reportedly witnessed at close quarters the sledging of fielders by England's most experienced bowlers, described by Pietersen as bullying.

Ponting said that they saw the England bowlers James Anderson, who was always the same, and Graeme Swann, pointing fingers, and added that one would hear a few expletives if there was a misfield or a dropped catch, The Daily Express reported.

Ponting said that the guys who were doing it were the so-called leaders, adding that that is where the captain has got to come in, not wait and let little things turn into big things. He said that that is what it sounds like has happened in this England team.

Although Australia has had its share of dressing room squabbles, Ponting claims that similar abuse of teammates in the field would not be tolerated.

The former skipper said that if a young bloke had dropped a catch and a bowler went off at him, that's just not acceptable, adding that no one means to drop a catch, to bowl a bad ball, or to play a bad shot. He said that it just happens in a game and one has to accept it and move on.

Pietersen's accusations have caused uproar in English cricket, sparking a fierce debate about team culture and prompting a severe backlash from former teammates, officials and those who believe he was a cancerous presence in the team, the report added.