England faced a thumping defeat at the hands of South Africa in the first Test of the four-match series at SuperSport Park in Centurion. The side’s crumbling batting department became one of the main reasons of their defeat and now a former England cricketer is suggesting the management to take some hard decisions.
Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen was absolutely devastated by the loss and stated that the team would have to take the decision to drop James Anderson or Stuart Broad for the second Test in Cape Town.
Taking it to Twitter, the 39-year-old cricketer explained that the English side needs to have an extra batsman in their playing XI if they think of winning the upcoming Test.
“England have to drop either Broad or Anderson for Newlands & play another batter if they want to win!” Pietersen said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, the head coach of the England team, Chris Silverwood, also gave an indication that either Anderson or Broad might be omitted from the playing XI to make space for a spinner.
Left-arm spinner Jack Leach who fell ill before the first Test has now fully recovered and might be included in the upcoming game if the management feels the need to have an all-rounder in the team.
“In Jimmy (Anderson) and Stuart (Broad), we have a wealth of experience and we’d be really stupid not to take that into consideration every game,” Silverwood said.
“But, equally, you want your youngsters to come through, and if we’re going to make room for a spinner, we’ve got to have a look at which seamers are right for this pitch. If there’s a big decision, we’re not afraid to make it,” added Silverwood.
South Africa won the first Test by a whopping margin of 107 runs and will look to take a healthy lead by winning the second Test too.
The second Test match will commence on January 3.
Teams:
South Africa Squad: Dean Elgar, Pieter Malan, Zubayr Hamza, Faf du Plessis(c), Rassie van der Dussen, Quinton de Kock(w), Dwaine Pretorius, Vernon Philander, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Beuran Hendricks, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dane Paterson, Rudi Second, Keegan Petersen
England Squad: Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Joe Denly, Joe Root(c), Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler(w), Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Jack Leach, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Craig Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Dominic Bess, Ollie Pope, Zak Crawley
