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‘Few of us could say shut up Kevin…’: Harmison blasts Pietersen for verbal attack on England players in 2nd Test
The former pacer said Pietersen was being far too harsh on the England team and needed to be more mindful of his words.
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen's no-holds-barred attack on Ben Stokes and Co's approach against Australia in the ongoing Ashes has not been received well by all. England had been sloppy in the field and with the ball and allowed Australia to get ahead in the game, but Pietersen's rant was seen as a bit too over the top by some.
One former teammate of Pietersen who came to the England team's defence was Steve Harmison. The former pacer claimed that Pietersen was being far too harsh on the England team and needed to be more mindful of his words. Speaking on talkSPORT, Harmison said: “I don’t think it was justified. I think this team has had one or two bad days in 12-13 months. I think some of the stuff that they were having a go at them (for), too matey, I think there’s a time and a place."
Pietersen had called England's performance on Day 1 “shambolic” and added that he hoped the coaching staff gave a “hammering” in the dressing to the players.
Australia finished with a first innings total of 416 after a Steve Smith century, whose excellent record in London continues. However, it could have been much worse, with England pulling things back late on the first day.
“I’m not going to knock Kevin for having his opinion – he’s always had it,” continued the former England pacer. “He was always forceful with it, it wasn’t always warranted, it wasn’t always best received!" Harmison isn't the first of Pietersen's former teammates to speak about how his presence in the dressing room wasn't always a positive one, leading to many soured relationships, especially with the captain Andrew Strauss.
“I’m sure it wasn’t best received in the England dressing room (ahead of day two), it certainly wasn’t best received by the England dressing room when we were in it!" said Harmison bluntly. “But a few of us could say to Kevin, in no uncertain terms, to shut up."
"I think at times there was a lot of frustration (on day one), but you’ve got to look at it in a five-day way. If he said that on Day five when England have just got beaten, I’d probably agree with him," continued Harmison.
“But if you say that on day one, when there’s a lot of cricket to be played, the sun’s gotta come out, and you’ve still got three innings to go – I’ll agree with him if England lose this Test match, because it was a poor day yesterday. Shambolic? I’m not so sure," concluded the former pacer.
England got off to a great start in their response, with two 90+ run partnerships for their first two wickets, but got in trouble playing brash shots against bounce. They are on 278/4, trailing by 138, heading into Day 3.
