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Test Batting Twice As Hard Back Then? Vaughan Slams Pietersen Over Nonsensical Comment
Follow UsFormer England skipper Michael Vaughan hit out at Pietersen over his comments
Recently, former England international Kevin Pietersen triggered a debate on X, stating that batting has become extremely easy nowadays. In that post, the former England skipper added the names of 22 bowlers and asked people on the platform to name ten modern-day bowlers in comparison to them.
“Waqar [Younis], Shoaib [Akhtar], [Wasim] Akram, [Saqlain] Mushtaq, [Anil] Kumble, [Javagal] Srinath, Harbhajan [Singh], [Allan] Donald, [Shaun] Pollock, [Lance] Klusener, [Darren] Gough, [Glenn] McGrath, [Brett] Lee, [Shane] Warne, [Jason] Gillespie, [Shane] Bond, [Daniel] Vettori, [Chris] Cairns, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Murali[tharan], Curtley [Ambrose], Courtney [Walsh] and the list could go on and on… I’ve named 22 above. Please name me 10 modern day bowlers that can compare to the names above?,” Pietersen wrote on X.
Pietersen’s comments haven’t gone down well with his first captain, Michael Vaughan, who hit out at the former batter. Vaughan stated that Pietersen is ‘talking nonsense’, elaborating with the example of the Australian pace unit.
“I think he’s talking nonsense,” said Vaughan on Sony Sports Network. “I have looked at the last six or seven years closely. You look at the Indian seamers now, they are as good as they ever had. You look at the Australian attack, that trio that Australia had, it is as good as they have had.”
Not just that, Vaughan also added that the pace units around the globe - the likes of Rabada, Jansen, Boult and Southee have made Test cricket extremely competitive.
“You go to South Africa, Rabada and Jansen. You go to New Zealand, Boult, Southee. I’ve loved the last few years of Test match cricket because it has been competitive,” argued Vaughan. “I think this era of batting, I don’t think it has been any easier than any other era. I think there’s some wonderful bowlers around.”
“You still have to score runs. Irrespective of the bowling you are facing, you still have to go get the runs. Don’t take anything away from the current players,” expressed Vaughan. “Look at the way they have batted. They have batted with a lot more aggression than earlier times, maybe not during Kevin Pietersen’s time. I don’t take anything away from the runs that have been scored in recent times.”