Kevin Pietersen has launched a stunning spray towards England, with the side struggling against Australia on the opening day at Lord's.
After going down in the opening game of The Ashes in an entertaining affair, the hosts were below their best on Wednesday as Australia finished the day at 5/339, with the likes of Steve Smith (85*) and David Warner (66) producing quality innings.
England were quite vocal after the first Test about the positive nature of their cricket but if they were to go down 2-0 early in the series, Australia's new public enemy Ollie Robinson may be forced to eat his words.
One man who wasn't pleased with the opening day's proceedings in London was former Ashes standout Pietersen, who ripped into the side's bowling performance and overall demeanour towards the Aussies.
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“Not a lot has caught my eye from an English perspective, it’s been absolutely shambolic," he told Sky Sports.
"You’ve got overhead conditions, you have a wicket that suit your bowlers, and you’ve got bowlers running in at 78 or 79 miles an hour.
"It’s one thing walking here, swanning around and saying ‘this is a wonderful team to play in and we are creating the best environment’ – but this is not Ashes cricket.
"I’ve played Ashes cricket, I’ve played 30 Test matches against Australia - the Australians were here and outside ready to bat before the English bowlers... they should have been in the rooms saying ‘we don’t want to bat’.
"It’s all too easy and it’s all too nice – are you telling me Ricky Ponting in 2005 is going to be talking to Geraint Jones? Do you think Michael Vaughan is gonna be standing next to Justin Langer? Are you joking? Are you absolute joking?
"I just hope they are in that dressing room and the England coach is giving them the biggest hammering… it’s absolutely not good enough."
Former England captain questions Ben Stokes
England skipper Ben Stokes failed to make an impact with the ball, finishing with 0/21 from just three overs, while his captaincy continues to come under the microscope as the visitors pile on the runs.
Andrew Strauss - a player who captained England in multiple Ashes series - believes the side are "lacking zip" and was critical of Stokes' captaincy.
“Those two wickets from Joe Root at the end of the day rescued it from being a truly awful day for England, to just a bad one," he said on Sky Sports.
"Australia dealt superbly well with that first hour or so, when the conditions were very much in England’s favour, and then earned the right to get on top later in the day.
"Generally, you think with Ben Stokes he is very proactive and he is always trying different things – his attitude today was just to let the pitch do it for us.
"I think the problem with the England bowlers was they just expected it to happen and perhaps didn’t put enough into it. I thought they were a little bit wayward and ultimately, they were lacking a bit of zip to be quite frank.
"They will be bitterly disappointed, because they had a great opportunity this morning and they fluffed their lines."
