Ashes 2017: Kevin Pietersen slams 'horrendous' England

What's the story?

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen has come down hard on the current England team and has slammed the management for the squad which was named for the upcoming Ashes.

Taking to Twitter after England announced their Ashes squad, Pietersen described it as “horrendous”.

Pietersen wrote: “Before bed, I have a comment on England's Ashes squad - it's horrendous! They may as well not go!”

“Oh no! Just seen [The Sun’s] front page and video! Cancel England's flights please!" he added.

The details

Pietersen did not stop with the aforementioned tweets, he also added that owing to the composition of the side, he felt sorry for the likes of Alastair Cook, Joe Root, James Anderson, and Stuart Broad.

Pietersen was not the only one who was disappointed with the England team.

Ashes-winning skipper, Michael Vaughan too criticised England's preparation before the Ashes. He even blamed Stokes for being irresponsible and not mature enough before such a big tour.

“England's wheels going Down Under are very loose,” Vaughan told BBC Radio 5 Live's Breakfast programme.

In case you didn't know...

Amidst the Ben Stokes controversy, England announced their Ashes squad which had a couple of surprising picks, to say the least.

The selectors brought back James Vince and Gary Ballance, both of whom were dropped after a miserable run with the England team over the past season.

Also, there are three new faces in the squad namely Ben Foakes, Craig Overton, and Mason Crane.

What’s next?

England travel to Australia after they were demolished by one Mitchell Johnson back in 2013 and hence would want to reverse their fortunes this time around.

They play the first Test match on November 23 at the Gabba in Brisbane. Also, according to the schedule, two pink ball Test matches will be played.

Author’s take

The announcement of the squad was a very low-key affair as it was eclipsed by the Stokes controversy. However, there is no debate over the few contentious selections and the selectors and the captain would love these players to stand up and be counted during the 5-match long affair.