Kevin Pietersen has defended captain Joe Root, claiming England 's struggles in Test cricket are down to a system that "stinks" and not Root's leadership.
England's comprehensive defeat to the West Indies in Grenada means they have now managed just one win in their last 17 Tests under Root. They have also failed to win any of their last five Test series' for the first time in their history.
As a result, Root has faced calls to quit as skipper, with the likes of Nasser Hussain and Steve Harmison among the raft of ex-players who feel his time as captain should be up. However, Pietersen has defended Root, questioning whether anyone else could "do a better job with these players".
Speaking to talkSPORT, Pietersen said: "As a captain you are only as good as your players. As a CEO of any business you are only as good as your team.
"My question is who is going to take over and who is going to do a better job with these players that they have got? Forget Joe Root, it is about the players.
"Who is going to do a better job with the calibre of player that is playing Test cricket for England? It is not Joe Root’s fault. Who are you going to pick?
"When Jack Leach and Ben Stokes put that partnership together at Headingley (in the Ashes) three years ago, Stokes played the innings of his life – I said then Leach is not good enough.
"He can be remembered for his glasses and everything else that’s carried on, well let’s hope he’s not remembered for that because he’s not a good enough spinner. He’s not. And who is second in line, Dom Bess? Are you joking?
"So you are all pointing fingers at Joe Root at the moment, don’t point fingers at Root, understand the setup. The setup stinks."
Stokes is the most obvious candidate to replace Root given he is the current vice-captain and led the side in a Test against the West Indies in 2020 while Root attended the birth of his daughter, Isabella. However, Pietersen does not believe that putting Stokes in charge would make a difference.
He added: "How is he [Stokes] going to do any better than Joe Root? He can’t [do any worse] but you can have as many voices as you want, that’s what I am saying, how are you going to change?
"How are you going to get these guys scoring runs against the best bowlers in the world? Have you see what’s coming? New Zealand, India, South Africa.
"How are you going to get these guys scoring 200s? Number one, two, three, four and five, how are you going to get them scoring 200s when they can’t bat?"
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