Former England cricketer and Sky Sports commentator Kevin Pietersen has savaged England’s “shambolic” performance on the opening day of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s.
The star batter turned commentary pundit teed off on the bowlers after the opening two sessions in London, which put Australia in a strong position.
After Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bowl under heavy cloud over, the England seamers bowled below their average pace and put down chances in the first session, allowing the Australian openers to settle in.
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Second gamer Josh Tongue was the pick of the England bowlers at the start of the day with his extra pace getting the better of the Australian openers, dismissing both Usman Khawaja and David Warner either side of the luncheon break.
But he didn’t have much support from his fellow bowlers, as the Australian batters looked increasingly comfortable in the middle.
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Speaking on Sky Sports at the tea interval in a segment with host Ian Ward and World Cup winning captain Eoin Morgan, Pietersen called on the England team to stop “swanning around” and become more ruthless to match the contest that is Ashes cricket.
“Not a lot has caught my eye from an English perspective … It’s been shambolic. Absolutely Shambolic,” Pietersen said on Sky Sports.
“You have overhead conditions, you have a wicket that suits your bowlers, you have bowlers running in at 78, 79 mile an hour.
“It’s one thing walking here, swanning around saying, ‘Hey, this is a wonderful team to play in, we’re creating the best environment.’ But this isn’t Ashes cricket.
“I’ve played Ashes cricket, I’ve played nearly 30 Test matches against Australia. The Australians were outside to bat before the English bowlers.
“The English bowlers this morning should have been on those stairs saying we want to bowl at Australia. We’re desperate to bowl at Australia. These two Australian batters are out there waiting for England.
“They’re the ones that should be in the room saying, ‘No, no, we don’t want to bat,’ and it’s all too easy and it’s all too nice.”
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Pietersen compared the niceties between the team to his era and his debut Ashes series in 2005, stating that players in his team wouldn’t be cuddling up to their opposition.
“Are you telling me that in 2005 Ricky Ponting will be talking to Geriant Jones?” he said.
“You think Michael Vaughan will be talking to Justin Langer saying hey mate, awesome, what a cool day, It’s overcast, it’s beautiful. What an environment here at Lord’s …
“Are you joking? Are you absolutely joking?
“I hope they’re in that dressing room now and the England coaches are giving them the biggest hammering in saying it’s not good enough.
“It’s absolutely not good enough.
“You cannot bowl that here today, you cannot have these conditions, you cannot declare for 390 … you think Australia are declaring today? You think Australia are getting 390 and saying England go have a bat.
“No chance.”
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