‘Listen buddy…’: Kevin Pietersen livid with Ben Duckett, says England '50-60 runs short' against India because of him
Kevin Pietersen said Ben Duckett's poor running that resulted in Phil Salt's run out cost England 50-60 runs in the first ODI against India in Nagpur.
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen was crossed with Ben Duckett's running between the wickets that resulted in Phil Salt's run out in the first ODI against India in Nagpur. Pietersen said Salt's runout cost England about 50-60 runs. The Jost Buttler-led side was bowled out for 248 in 47.4 overs after opting to bat first. Salt and Duckett gave England a blazing start, reaching 73 in just 8.4 overs. Salt, in particular, was at his brutal best. He blasted debutant Harshit Rana for 26 runs in the sixth over. But just when things were looking ominous for India, England gifted them a wicket.
In the fifth ball of the 9th over, Salt stayed leg side of a Hardik Pandya shortish delivery and managed it to push it past the backward point fielder. The ball did not have the legs to reach the boundary. Credit must be given to Shreyas Iyer for hunting it down and then letting out an accurate throw. But what seemed like an easy three runs resulted in a run out as Duckett was guilty of ball-watching.
The left-hander got off the blocks slowly and never looked like getting back for the third run. Salt, on the other hand, was sprinting. There was a complete breakdown of communication between the England openers, and by the time Duckett raised his hand up to send Salt back for the third run, it was way too late. Salt had already travelled more than half the length of the pitch.
Iyer's throw was right on the top of the stumps and all KL Rahul had to do was gather it cleanly and take the bails off, which it did to perfection. Salt had to take the long walk back after scoring 43 off 26 balls.
Pietersen said Duckett took it too easy. "If you have a look at Duckett's running, he was jogging. He was not at full sprint. Then he slows down further. He was not at his partner; he was just shouting. Salt was saying come come come. Actually, if Duckett had gotten his foot down, hustled and sprinted, there would have been more decisive thinking. But then, there was too much of a jog, too much of a coast and it proved to be costly. Salt got a fifty the other night at Wankhede and here, he was again batting beautifully and this cost England another 50-60 runs," he said in the mid-innings show on Star Sports.
The former batter said three runs were definitely on. "Absolutely, three was on. And if it wasn't on, there needed to be better shouting. It all seemed to be a little bit too relaxed."
Former India wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel said Salt and Duckett should have been better with non-verbal communication. "You cannot be ball watching when you play in front of such big crowd, You can't rely on just calling. you have to follow the movements and gestures too."
Further tapping into Ducklett's poor running between the wickets, Pietersen went on to add that England head coach, Brendon McCullum, should have a word with the left-hander as he had been repeating the same mistake since the T20Is.
"If I was the coach of England, I wouldn't be livid but I would certainly sit down and have a chat with Ben Duckett. I saw this in the T20Is as well. and I'd say to him, 'Listen buddy, I want you to run way quicker and be more decisive while running between the wickets'."
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