Josh Tongue defended England’s performance on the opening day of the second Ashes Test after Australia reached 339 for five at stumps – after losing the toss at the start of the day and two wickets to Joe Root’s part-time off-spin towards the end of it – and Kevin Pietersen described the English display as “absolutely shambolic”.
Having won the toss and chosen to field England dropped two catches and conceded 36 extras, including 12 no-balls, while David Warner and Steve Smith – who ended the day unbeaten on 85 – both scored half-centuries and Travis Head sprinted to 77 off 73 balls before becoming the first of Root’s victims. “It’s been absolutely shambolic,” Pietersen said. “You have overhead conditions, you have a wicket to suit your bowlers and you’ve got bowlers running in at 78, 79, 80 miles an hour. It’s one thing swanning around saying, ‘This is a wonderful team to play in, we’re creating the best environment.’ But this is not Ashes cricket. I just hope the coach is giving them the biggest hammering and saying it’s absolutely not good enough.”
