Ashes 2023: Kevin Pietersen criticises England’s decision to declare below 400 on Day 1

Kevin Pietersen was left disappointed with England’s decision to declare their innings after producing 393 runs on the opening day of the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston. While analysing England’s performance in the first innings, Pieterson anticipated that a 400-plus total would be more comfortable lead against a star-studded batting unit like Australia, putting stress on the psychological factor. Also, the former English batter doubted the Edgbaston track could become more handy for the batters as the game progressed to the second day and beyond. If that happens, a solid lead in the first innings would make things easier for Ben Stokes and Co. “It is a wicket that did get better for batting, and I guess tomorrow might be the most beautiful day. For this reason, I didn't like the declaration,” Pietersen said on Sky Sports, as quoted by Sportskeeda.

Kevin Pietersen on England's decision

In abid to substantiatehis thoughts, Kevin Pietersen dug out the reference to England's rescheduled Test against India at Edgbaston last year. India could post a decent 416 in the first innings, which seemed a good total initially. But it didn’t work as the pitch had nothing for the bowlers when England began their chase in the fourth innings. The Three Lions finally prevailed on the occasion, comfortably chasing down 378 runs to pick up a seven-wicket victory.

“We will find out if it was the right decision. For some reason, I was usually instructed to reach 400-450 runs in the opening innings of a Test match. I know they're close, but it's psychological. Maybe I'm being too critical. I'm not sure, let’s see,” Pietersen explained further.

Ashes 2023: Nasser Hussain thinks otherwise

Another country legend, Nasser Hussain however showed his faith in England’s decision. Anticipating the reason behind it, the former England captain said that Ben Stokes might consider Stuart Broad’s dominance against Aussie opener David Warner and wanted to get rid of the big man early when the ball remains new on Day 2.

Whenever England and Australia have squared off for a red-ball clash, the duel between Broad and Warner has always been an event to watch. The English pacer has so far dismissed Warner 14 times in Test, conceding 397 runs off 721 balls at an average of 28.4.

England stuck to their aggressive approach batting first in the first Ashes Test. Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow shone with the bat for the hosts, scoring 118 and 78 runs. Opener Zak Crawley also pulled off a good start and contributed 61 runs to the scoresheet. At the end of Day 1, Australia were batting at 14 runs with both openers unbeaten at the crease.