Former England skipper Nasser Hussain has lashed out at Kevin Pietersen and Cricket Board authorities for the captain-coach row which pushed the country's cricket into a turmoil.
Hussain said he was surprised at the England and Wales Cricket Board's choice of Pietersen as captain and coach Peter Moores as coach, who were likely to fall out with each other.
"It's surprising how English cricket continues to shoot itself in the foot just before an Ashes series," he said.
"The ECB knew exactly when they gave Kevin Pietersen the job, what sort of guy he is. That's why I thought they gave him the job, because he was abrasive, he was going to be in your face and take people on.
"They must have known it was eventually going to come to a clash between Pietersen and Moores," he was quoted as saying by the Geosuper website.
Hussain also felt it was very difficult for Moores to fill in the big shoes of Duncan Fletcher.
"England had a fantastic coach in Duncan Fletcher. Peter Moores's only mistake, really, has been to follow Duncan Fletcher because he was a really hard act to follow," said Hussain, who was captain when Fletcher took over in 1999.
Moores took over after the 2007 World Cup from Fletcher, who led England to their 2005 home Ashes success.
Under Moores, England won eight, lost six and drew eight of 22 Tests but seven of those wins came against the West Indies and New Zealand, teams below them in the world rankings.
Hussain also criticised Pietersen for holidaying in South Africa during such an important issue.
"You can't just sit on safari in South Africa and issue ultimatums to the Board about the England cricket captaincy. It is far too important for that."