Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen on Monday (28th March) lashed out at the people pointing fingers over Joe Root’s captaincy for his side's poor outing in the West Indies. He said that the cricketing set-up in the country ‘stinks’.
England’s poor run in Test cricket continued as the Root-led side suffered a disappointing 1-0 series loss against West Indies and invited a lot of criticism for their performances. Their batting yet again let them down and it’s fair to say that it has been one of the biggest reasons for their poor outings in the longest format of the game lately.
They were bundled out for just 204 and 120 in their two innings of the third Test against the West Indies. Following England’s debacle, skipper Joe Root has received a lot of flak for his leadership skills. Many fans want ECB to sack him as the captain of the side.
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Under Root, England has just managed a single win in their last 17 encounters. They recently suffered a 4-0 drubbing in the Ashes 2021-22 and now with a 1-0 loss against West Indies, his place as a captain in the side is under the scanner.
Speaking to TalkSport Radio, Kevin Pietersen said that it’s only the poor system that is responsible for England’s woes in Tests and not Joe Root. He talked about the quality of players in the side, highlighting that there’s no one better than the current skipper to lead the side.
“As a captain you are only as good as your players. As a CEO of any business you are only as good as your team. My question is who is going to take over and who is going to do a better job with these players that they have got?
“Forget Joe Root, it is about the players. Who is going to do a better job with the calibre of players that are playing Test cricket for England? It is not Joe Root’s fault. Who are you going to pick?" Kevin Pietersen said.
Pietersen recalled his words on Jack Leach which he said in 2019. Calling him not good enough, he said that people can remember him for his glasses and other things but not for performances.
He noted that with Dom Bess being the next spinner in line depicts England’s set-up. He urged people not to point fingers at Root.
“When Jack Leach and Ben Stokes put that partnership together at Headingley (in the Ashes) three years ago, Stokes played the innings of his life - I said then Leach is not good enough. He can be remembered for his glasses and everything else that’s carried on, well let’s hope he’s not remembered for that because he’s not a good enough spinner.
“He’s not. And who is second in line, Dom Bess? Are you joking? So you are all pointing fingers at Joe Root at the moment, don’t point fingers at Root, understand the setup. The setup stinks,” he said.
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Earlier there were calls that Ben Stokes should take over from Root and lead the side in Tests. Talking about the same, Pietersen disagreed with such suggestions and said: “How is he (Stokes) going to do any better than Joe Root? He can’t (do any worse) but you can have as many voices as you want, that’s what I am saying, how are you going to change? How are you going to get these guys scoring runs against the best bowlers in the world?
“Have you see what’s coming (in summer)? New Zealand, India, South Africa. How are you going to get these guys scoring 200s? Number one, two, three, four and five, how are you going to get them scoring 200s when they can’t bat?" he said.
(TalkSport Radio inputs)
