Kevin Pietersen is one of the many who have criticised and questioned the ECB’s decision to drop the legendary pair of James Anderson and Stuart Broad from the Test side for the upcoming tour of the West Indies.
This has come in response to the changes being made after the 4-0 drubbing in the Ashes by Australia. Andrew Strauss, England’s interim director of men’s cricket, was at the forefront of this decision, as he was when the duo was axed from the white-ball teams after the embarrassing 2015 World Cup.
However, what has been pointed out constantly is that it was England’s brittle batting that couldn’t stand up to the Aussie bowlers and has been a niggling issue in England’s Test line-up which has been carried by Joe Root for more than a year. With Root not scoring a ton in the Ashes, their batting inevitably faltered in every Test.
On the other hand, Anderson and Broad, who have a combined 1177 Test wickets, have been bowling at their best for the last two years. In the lost Ashes series, the duo picked 21 wickets combined in 3 Tests each; Anderson was England’s best bowler on bowling average and economy while Broad was the second-highest wicket-taker in the England team.
Seeing this unceremonious axing of the iconic duo, Kevin Pietersen has called out the board, saying that if Anderson and Broad – the top two capped Test pacers and the highest and third-highest wicket-taking pacers in Tests – don’t get their farewell matches, then it would a disgrace.
Kevin Pietersen tweeted: “Broad – 152 Tests Anderson – 169 Tests On par with Ambrose/Walsh, Younis/Akram, Donald/Pollock etc. If they don’t get a chance to say goodbye to English cricket ON THE FIELD, then it’s an absolute DISGRACE!”
Broad – 152 Tests
Anderson – 169 TestsOn par with Ambrose/Walsh, Younis/Akram, Donald/Pollock etc.
If they don’t get a chance to say goodbye to English cricket ON THE FIELD, then it’s an absolute DISGRACE!
— Kevin Pietersen? (@KP24) February 14, 2022
Andrew Strauss has stressed that this is not necessarily “the end of the road” for England’s top-two leading wicket-takers. England host New Zealand for 3 Tests and India for one Test followed by South Africa for 3 more Tests this summer; perhaps that could be the last hurrah for Anderson and Broad.
