Geoffrey Boycott has criticised the England and Wales Cricket Board for the way that they have handled the Kevin Pietersen saga.

A series of public relations mistakes, including the leak of a private dossier this week, has added fuel to the fire started by the release of Pietersen's autobiography, and Boycott believes that it is unfair to see the axed batsman take most of the blame.

"This has been a sorry week for English cricket, but the England and Wales Cricket Board started this farce with Kevin Pietersen so it should not try to take the moral high ground," the former England stalwart told the Daily Telegraph.

"Kevin is a sinner but he has been sinned against by the ECB. There are rights and wrongs on both sides and whatever Pietersen's faults, the ECB is not blameless.

"For me, it reached its lowest point on Tuesday when a "strictly confidential" ECB document was leaked to the media. The points it contained were pathetic and it was a crass idea to put together such a report to try to trash Kevin. It stinks."

Pietersen claimed on Thursday that he would "do anything" to play for England again.