Former England captain Kevin Pietersen said that England do not look like a side that can win Test matches after their twin losses in the ongoing Ashes. While Pietersen has played a lot against Aussies, he very well knows how tough it is to make a comeback against Australia in their backyard as well.
Kevin Pietersen opined on England’s inability to sustain the intensity levels. They also failed to put pressure on Australia for a long time. In his blog for Betway, Kevin Pietersen has analyzed England’s performances in the ongoing Ashes series so far.
“Unfortunately, I know from experience that once you go 2-0 down in an Ashes series away from home there is no belief in the camp that you’re going to turn things around. You continue to try, you continue to do the right things, but I knew in 2006/07 and 2013/14 – and these players will know now – that there’s no realistic way back,” Pietersen wrote.Â
“Previously, we had to go to the WACA, where England always lose. At least this time they’re going straight to Melbourne, but there is nothing in these performances to suggest that England are capable of winning a Test match. Every time they engineer a little bit of hope, they have another horrible session. They’re just not capable of putting a few good sessions and days together,” the former cricketer added.Â
England need to go back to picking on character – Kevin Pietersen
The former player, moreover, highly criticized the quality of the current county cricket circuit of England. He asked selectors not to use that as a benchmark while choosing players for the longer format as well. Kevin Pietersen has also suggested some radical changes to the selection procedure as well.
Pietersen wrote:
“Blaming Haseeb Hameed, Ollie Pope or anybody else is not the point – they have been selected because they are among the best batsmen in county cricket. Pope averaged 78 in county cricket last season and looks all over the place down under.”
“What does that say about our domestic game? Until it gets sorted, basing selection on county cricket statistics is pointless, so England need to go back to picking on character. Picking players who have the talent is the only way to go while the gap between county cricket and Test match cricket is so big,” Kevin Pietersen concluded.
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