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Brendon McCullum and Kevin Pietersen (Source - Twitter)
The first Test match of the Ashes 2023 series saw a thrilling contest between Australia and England at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The Australian team defeated England by 2 wickets and started the iconic Ashes series on a winning note. Many fans and cricket experts claimed that the reason behind England’s loss was their bold move of declaring the first innings early.
It was already known that the English side would be playing with their famous ‘Bazball’ philosophy but it looked like this time the strategy backfired on them. Meanwhile, former legendary England batter Kevin Pietersen recently revealed that he went to ask England’s head coach Brendon McCullum about the bold declaration decision.
“I love the positivity. But it’s just this series, in particular, that I still need to get my head around. I actually walked up to McCullum on Saturday and said, ‘Please explain this to me because I don’t understand it'. I have done that my whole career. I gave you a spray in Australia in 2006. I was like, ‘Dude what are you saying and why are you saying this?'" Pietersen was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
Test cricket needs something to turn itself around: Kevin Pietersen
Pietersen further added and also supported the aggressive approach of the England cricket team. However, he was not in favour of England’s decision to declare the innings on 393 and said that if he was in Ben Stokes’ place, he wouldn’t have declared the innings.
"We are at a time where Test cricket needs something to turn itself around because there is so much competition. But I am answering this slowly because I am still not 100 per cent sure… No, I would never have declared. Because against Australia, the first day of the Ashes, 393, thinking you’ve got enough on a flat wicket," he added.
The 2nd Test match of the Ashes 2023 series will be played on June 28 at the Lord’s in London. The Stokes-led team will aim to make a comeback in the series with a win while the Australian team will try to make it 2-0.