Kevin Pietersen terms current England batting 'Worst'; slams ECB for marginalising Tests

Team India on Monday registered a historic 157-run win over England in the fourth Test at the Kennington Oval to gain a 2-1 lead in the ongoing five-match series. India was bowled out for 191 in the first innings, but still, the visitors managed to register a thrilling win. Now, England's former cricketer Kevin Pietersen has hailed the evolution of the Virat Kohli-led squad and slammed the England Cricket Board for marginalising Test cricket. 

Kevin Pietersen slams ECB over deteriorating England's batting in Test cricket

Pietersen in his blog for Betway Insider shed light on England's batting worries especially in Test cricket and even called the current batting of the squad the worst he has ever seen. 

"It’s difficult to know what more to say about this England side. The batting, in particular, is about the worst that it’s ever been, and they have failed to win either of their two summer series for the first time in 20 years," wrote Pietersen.

"This has not happened overnight. Unfortunately, you cannot expect these guys to deliver when the system is so flawed. It goes back to the summer of 2015 when the ECB thought that they should be clever-clogs and completely marginalise red-ball cricket.
It’s been coming, and we’re now seeing the results. It’s going to take a long time to undo the damage," added Kevin Pietersen. 

The English batting line-up on Monday crumbled down in front of the Indian bowling line-up led by Jasprit Bumrah.

England announces squad for the fifth Test against India

Meanwhile, England on Tuesday announced a 16-member squad for the fifth and final Test against India. Wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler and left-arm spinner Jack Leach returned to the England squad for the Manchester Test. Buttler had missed the fourth Test due to the birth of his second child. 

"Batsman Sam Billings, who was included in the fourth Test squad, has returned to Kent," the ECB said in a statement.

England, who has not lost a Test series to India at home since 2007, are under pressure to save the series. There is a good chance that pacer Mark Woods will return to the playing eleven in place of James Anderson, who could be rested after featuring in four games.

England squad: Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood.

(Image Credits: AP/@EnglandCricket/Twitter)