Harmison: I backed KP

The Durham seamer has been accused of lobbying for Pietersen's removal in the wake of his public row with coach Peter Moores - with both being ousted from the roles during the week. Reports described a dressing room divided along broadly pro-Pietersen and pro-Andrew Flintoff lines, with Harmison an alleged member of the latter camp.

But Harmison wrote in the Mail on Sunday: "It simply isn't true. I can say without a moment's hesitation that both Fred (Flintoff) and I supported Kevin as our captain and our leader, (Andrew) Strauss has already made his backing for Kevin quite clear and any suggestion that we turned against him when (managing director) Hugh Morris rang us for our views over the crisis is rubbish."

He added: "The idea that we told Morris that we supported Peter Moores ahead of Kevin is nonsense.

"I just don't accept the notion of a dressing-room rift, with players in one camp or another. There was no rift. There were no camps."

The man who was once Test cricket's top-ranked bowler believes blood need not have been spilt over the row, and insists the relationship between Moores and Pietersen could have been healed had their differences remained private.

Harmison said: "My belief is that had the row stayed in-house, there might still have been a chance for Morris to get Peter and Kevin together to thrash out the issue, and a hugely upsetting and damaging breakdown might have been avoided."

In Harmison's view, however, Pietersen will continue to be a world-class player for England despite his very public dressing down.

"I've taken the mickey out of him until the cows come home about his South African origins, but I've never met anyone more committed to the cause of English cricket or more proud to be captain of England," he said.

"In my opinion, in the next 35-40 Tests he will prove himself to be one of the best batsmen England have ever had, certainly the best in my time."