Strauss regrets 'dirty laundry' being aired in public during Pietersen row

Johannesburg, Aug 15 : England captain Andrew Strauss has said he was surprised with Kevin Pietersen’s assertions about other players in the dressing room and regretted the ‘dirty laundry’ being aired in public over the issue.

Last weekend, Pietersen was dramatically dropped from England''s squad, despite scoring a superb 149 in the second Test at Headingley, after failing to reveal the contents of text messages allegedly sent to South African players during that match.

Some of those texts are said to include derogatory comments about Strauss and England coach Andy Flower.

Strauss insisted he''d always had good relations with Pietersen, his predecessor as England captain.

“"I''ve always got on with Kevin. I''ve tried to be honest with him; he''s been honest with me. That''s why this has all been a bit of a surprise to me,” Sports24 quoted Strauss, as saying during an interview.

“I think the discontent that Kevin had with the board over his contract situation was one that the players didn''t get involved in - and I didn''t really get involved in, if I''m honest,” he added.

“But over the last week I have had to get involved, because there have been issues a little bit more central to his relationship with the other players and our ability to perform out in the middle,” he said.

Strauss further said: “Firstly, I''m a big believer in not airing dirty laundry in public. It''s one of our core values in our team that what goes on in the dressing room stays in the dressing room.”

“Any time anyone has fallen foul of that they have been disciplined - and rightly so. It''s about mutual respect and trust, and that is a core issue that is central to resolving this,” he added.