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Cricket Players'It's defeatist attitude': Kevin Pietersen says England coach Chris Silverwood should not 'moan' about pitch
There are also suggestions going around regarding ICC making an assessment on the 3rd Test pitch, something which Pietersen believes should not be advocated by Silverwood.
Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen believes that coach Chris Silverwood should not complain about the pitch as it signifies a 'defeatist attitude'. The debate has continued over the pitch in the 3rd Test between India and England at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad. The highly-anticipated Day/Night contest between the two teams ended in less than two full days with the Virat Kohli-led side picking up a comprehensive 10-wicket win.
Since then, several former cricketers including Michael Vaughan, Alastair Cook, and Andrew Strauss have questioned the nature of the Ahmedabad pitch. There are also suggestions going around regarding ICC making an assessment on the 3rd Test pitch, something which Pietersen believes should not be advocated by Silverwood.
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"If Chris Silverwood is now starting to complain and moan about the pitch, if the head coach is going to moan and complain, that is as defeatist an attitude as I have ever heard of," Pietersen told Talk Sport, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
"He should wind his neck in. If you point your finger at someone else, four fingers point back at you and that’s what England need to remember," Pietersen said.
"If it was me after this Test match, as an England player I would say, 'You know what, I played badly, I have got a week now to try and play and practise as best as I can so that we can try and win the next Test match'. Because winning the next Test match and winning two Test matches in India and drawing the series is a damned good feat," he added.
"Instead of the negative, defeatist attitude, instead of blaming the ICC, blaming the pitch, trying to get India deducted points, all the nonsense surrounding that, I would be thinking, 'Fine, 21 of us missed straight balls, let me go and sort my defence out against the straight ball and the spinner'.
"Virat Kohli spoke about it. Rohit Sharma spoke about it. They both said both teams didn’t bat well. So be honest. You’re allowed to be honest as a sportsman.
"How many of the guys got out to wickets where the ball bounced and turned and they nicked it to slip and it was unplayable? How many of those were there? I’ll tell you the answer. None. They all got out to straight balls. So work on your defence. Use your bat, play straight, defend straight, play late, bat like Joe Root. Pretty damn simple," Pietersen signed off.
