Sports · Cricket · 12 hrs ago
McCullum turns to Pietersen after England’s Perth batting collapse
England were bowled out for 131 in Perth on Friday and lost the first one-day international to Australia by seven wickets.
Head coach Brendon McCullum has asked former England batter Kevin Pietersen to lead a debrief with the team.
Pietersen is due to leave the Australia tour after Sunday's second one-day international in Adelaide, and is expected to rejoin England for the one-day matches in South Africa in January.
McCullum said England did not adapt well enough to Perth's fast, bouncy pitch, where some shots were difficult to play.
The defeat matters because the 2027 World Cup will be played in southern Africa, where England may face similarly bouncy conditions.
England also arrive after a poor run in Pakistan, with four defeats and one win in a match that could not change the tri-series outcome.
The team will next face Australia in Adelaide, where Pietersen's advice is intended to help them adjust.
England were bowled out for 131 in Perth and lost by seven wickets.
Coach Brendon McCullum said the team had failed to adapt to the fast, bouncy pitch.
McCullum said Kevin Pietersen would help review the batting before leaving the Australia tour after Sunday's second one-day international in Adelaide.
England see the conditions as useful preparation for next year's 50-over World Cup in southern Africa.
Captain Harry Brook said England had picked Liam Dawson over Adil Rashid because the Perth surface was expected to favour seam bowling.
- Who
- England's men's one-day team, led by coach Brendon McCullum and captain Harry Brook.
- What
- England lost by seven wickets after being bowled out for 131 in Perth. McCullum said Kevin Pietersen would help the batting lineup learn from the defeat.
- When
- Friday, with the second one-day international scheduled for Sunday.
- Where
- Perth, Australia; England's next match is in Adelaide.
- Why
- McCullum said England did not adapt quickly enough to the bouncy conditions, which he said could offer preparation for the 2027 World Cup.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
England were bowled out for 131 in Perth and lost by seven wickets.
Pietersen is due to leave the Australia tour after England's second one-day international in Adelaide.
Pietersen is due to leave for India to speak at a YouTube conference.
Pietersen is expected to work with England again during the one-day internationals in South Africa.
- Perth total
- 131 all out
- Result
- Seven-wicket defeat
- Next match
- Second one-day international in Adelaide, on Sunday
- World Cup
- 2027 50-over tournament in southern Africa
- Pietersen's next expected England assignment
- One-day internationals in South Africa in January
3 sources
What people are saying
We weren’t quick enough to adapt to the conditions.
It’s a bit like batting on a trampoline, there are certain shots that are very difficult to execute.
We need to be able to adapt to conditions a bit more, we need to scrap a bit more.
We knew that the surface here today was going to be seam-friendly and spin wasn’t going to play a massive part, hence why we went with Daws [who is] probably a better batter than Rash at the minute.