Former England captain Kevin Pietersen has hit back to the critics who want to sack Joe Root and Chris Silverwood from their respective positions as captain and coach after the Ashes debacle. Pietersen feels that England has no other option but to go with the same set-up.
On Sunday, chasing the target of 271, England collapsed once again to get bowled out for 124 as they conceded the series by 0-4 in the 5-match series. The Sydney match was ended in a draw as the last wicket pair- Stuart Broad and James Anderson deny the last wicket to the hosts to avoid the possibility of another whitewash.
England hasn’t won a Test match in Australia since Jan 2011
As the series ended, the review and scrutiny have been started over England’s performance as the former players and cricket pundits have been asking to sack the captain and the coach. However, Kevin Pietersen doesn’t agree with them.
“They’re saying, SACK THE COACH! SACK THE CAPTAIN! Who else is going to coach or captain this England Test team any better? If you name me some world-class players to replace the current underperforming ones, I’ll agree. But, there isn’t! #BlameTheSystem” Kevin Pietersen tweeted.
They’re saying, SACK THE COACH! SACK THE CAPTAIN!
Who else is going to coach or captain this England Test team any better?
If you name me some world class players to replace the current underperforming ones, I’ll agree.
But, there isn’t! #BlameTheSystem— Kevin Pietersen? (@KP24) January 17, 2022
England has struggled down under for a while now as they haven’t won a Test match in Australia since January 2011. The scoreline in the last three Ashes series in Australia has been strongly in favour of the hosts as they won by 5-0 in 2013-14, 4-0 in 2017-18, and 4-0 in 2021-22.
Kevin Pietersen himself was part of 2013-14 when the hosts thrashed them by 5-0. It was his last series in his international career. Pietersen believes that Joe Root and Chris Silverwood are still the right men for the job as they don’t have any better alternatives.
England had a torrid time in Test cricket last year as they lost their both home series against New Zealand and India. They also lost the 4-match series by 1-3 in India earlier in the year 2021.
However, Joe Root had a great time with the bat as he scored 1708 runs with an average of 61 which included 6 hundreds. Though he couldn’t play any influential knock in the Ashes.
England’s next assignment in Tests will be a 3-match series against West Indies in March.
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