Former England batting great Kevin Pietersen launched a scathing attack on the current Test team following their comprehensive 82-run defeat in the third Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday. The loss handed Australia an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, ensuring they retain the coveted urn.
Pietersen's Scathing Critique on Social Media
Taking to social media platform X, Pietersen expressed his bewilderment at England's performance, especially given Australia's depleted attack. "No Hazlewood, hardly any Cummins, Smith, Lyon, etc, makes this defeat tough to understand," he posted. He further questioned the modern batter's mentality towards the longest format, writing, "Seen more dismissals this morning that tell me all I need to know about an earlier tweet I wrote, saying that batters are not tuned into Test Cricket anymore."
How The Adelaide Test Unfolded
After winning the toss and opting to bat, Australia found themselves in early trouble at 94/4, thanks to England's Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse. However, Usman Khawaja (82) and wicketkeeper Alex Carey staged a recovery. Carey went on to score his maiden Ashes century, a brilliant 106 off 143 balls. Valuable lower-order contributions from Mitchell Starc (54) and Scott Boland pushed Australia to a first-innings total of 371. Archer was the standout bowler for England, claiming an impressive five-wicket haul for 53 runs.
England's reply was shaky, collapsing to 168/8 before a resilient partnership between captain Ben Stokes (83) and Archer (51) lifted them to 286, still 85 runs behind. In their second innings, Australia were steadied by a magnificent counter-attacking 170 from Travis Head and another solid 72 from Carey. Set a daunting target of 435, England's chase never truly gained momentum despite starts from several batters.
England's Chase Falls Short
Zak Crawley, Joe Root (39), and Harry Brook provided hope, but wickets fell at regular intervals. A fighting 60 from Jamie Smith and a stubborn 47 from Will Jacks delayed the inevitable, but England were eventually bowled out for 352. Pat Cummins (3/48), Mitchell Starc (3/62), and Nathan Lyon (3/77) shared the spoils for Australia. For his twin scores of 106 and 72, Alex Carey was deservedly named the Player of the Match.
Series Consequence and Looking Ahead
The result means Australia have retained the Ashes with two matches still to play. The defeat has sparked intense debate about England's 'Bazball' approach in challenging conditions away from home. Pietersen's comments highlight a growing concern about the application of their batters in Test cricket. The focus now shifts to the remaining two Tests, which become a matter of pride for Ben Stokes and his team to salvage something from the tour.
