Cricket legend Kevin Pietersen rips England apart after dismal ODI performance against India

Jos Buttler is adamant England are not being “lazy” amid explosive criticism about how often his side have trained in India.

As England slid to a 142-run thumping and a seventh loss in eight games while being swept 3-0 in their ODI series in Ahmedabad, former India player and coach Ravi Shastri claimed — falsely — the tourists had “just one net session this entire trip, if not any”.

Shastri’s underlying point was “you’re not going to improve” without putting in “the hard yards” as England again floundered with the bat, collapsing to 214 all out in response to India’s mammoth 356.

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Ex-England captain Kevin Pietersen then queried why Tom Banton, who flew from the UK to India on Monday as an injury replacement for Jacob Bethell, was “on the golf course” on Tuesday instead of practising.

“There is not a single sportsperson who goes into a series and decides, ‘I am going to get better without practice’. I am sorry,” Pietersen said.

‘I was flabbergasted when I learnt England hasn’t practiced since the first game. I get it. Enjoy yourselves. These are the best time of your life. Play golf. Go out, eat in a beautiful restaurant.

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‘But you get paid to score runs. That is why you get paid. You get paid to win games of cricket. You don’t get paid to play golf. This is not a golf tour, this is a cricket tour.

‘You practice so that you leave on a flight tomorrow knowing you have given everything to win a game of cricket for England.

Jos Buttler and India’s Rohit Sharma during their ODI battle. Credit: AAP

“I am gutted they have disrespected Indian conditions and India so much. I am absolutely gutted as an Englishman.”

India, though, have only had one more training session on the trip than England, with both teams having to factor in a punishing travel schedule that has seen them play at eight different venues in 22 days.

While England have had several days off, they have undertaken six internal flights, including three of at least 800 miles, prompting Buttler to launch a defence of his and head coach Brendon McCullum’s methods.

“We obviously try to create a really good environment but don’t mistake that for a lazy environment or a lack of effort,” Buttler said. “The guys are desperate to perform, do well and improve.

“I think we’ve had a reasonably long tour, a few long travel days, there have been a couple of times we’ve not trained but we’ve certainly done plenty of training throughout the tour.”

England’s defeat was compounded by Ben Duckett suffering a groin injury when fielding and, while he batted in his usual position as opener, the sight of him limping badly was a major cause for concern.

Duckett is set for a scan but with England starting their Champions Trophy campaign against Australia on February 22 in Lahore, the omens do not look good despite Buttler keeping his fingers crossed.

“He’s obviously been playing really well and hopefully it’s not too bad,” Buttler said. “We’ll find out more over the next couple of days. There’s a little bit of time, hopefully he’ll be OK.”

England were already patched up as pace trio Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse and Jamie Overton were out with niggles, while Jamie Smith has been unavailable since the T20 series owing to a calf injury.

Banton therefore made his first international appearance since January 2022, having been officially confirmed as Bethell’s injury replacement in England’s 15-strong squad for the Champions Trophy.

– With 7NEWS.com.au

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