Kevin Piete­r­sen has been made a “scapegoat” for England’s Ashes humiliation in Australia, ac­c­o­­rding Sir Vivian Richards.

England controversially axed their all-time leading run-scorer across all formats following a 5-0 series loss Down Under where he was their highest-scoring contributor with the bat.
“You were looking for some heads to roll and, for some reason, Kevin Pietersen’s head was in the way,” Richards told BBC Radio Five.

“He’ll have been disappointed with the series in Australia, but overall I think he’s been a good servant to English cricket,” added Richards.

“At times, and just judging from my side of the fence, it looks like you’re looking for some little scapegoat, and he was made one.”

Richards’ comments echoed those of retired all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, who was at a loss to explain the 33-year-old South Africa-born batsman’s banishment from international cricket.