Kevin Pietersen leaps to Ben Stokes’ defence following fourth Test criticism

Kevin Pietersen has leapt to Ben Stokes’ defence after the England captain was criticised for his reaction to India refusing an early finish towards the end of the fourth Test.

India left Emirates Old Trafford on Sunday with a draw to keep the Rothesay series alive – England lead 2-1 – after the tourists batted out five sessions as Stokes’ side took just four wickets in 143 overs.

England’s toil might have ended earlier as Stokes offered to shake hands with 15 overs left but he was rebuffed by Ravindra Jadeja as he and fellow spinner Washington Sundar were approaching their hundreds.

The hosts were visibly irritated by the decision and a few offered some choice words, while Stokes withdrew his frontline bowlers and turned to Harry Brook’s loopy mid-30mph off-spin to hasten a finish.

Only when both Jadeja and Washington brought up three figures did the penultimate Test of the series conclude, but Stokes was labelled a “spoilt kid” by former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar on streaming service JioHotstar in India.

Pietersen, a former England team-mate of Stokes, views things differently, though, as he said on X: “Two days fielding and no result on the cards – you WANT to get off the field!

“You cannot have a pop at Ben Stokes for his frustration. Very easy to have a pop at him when you’re sitting in your lounge watching. You’re NOT in the battle. Leave the men in the ring to be emotional.”

With a blockbuster Ashes series looming on the horizon, many Australian media outlets have seized upon the contentious day five incident in Manchester, with a Sydney Morning Herald opinion piece titled: “Spare us the whinging, England. The only thing embarrassing about Old Trafford was your tantrum.”

Stokes, whose side will look to seal a series win at the Kia Oval this week, insisted he would not have had more satisfaction from getting a hundred than an 80 or 90 not out to help his side avoid defeat.

But former Australia opening batter and head coach Justin Langer told Australian daily digital newspaper The Nightly: “It’s great to see that Test cricket still has that hard edge.

“If the roles were reversed, I imagine if it were Ben Stokes whose young team-mates had the chance to score a Test 100, he would have done the exact same thing (as Jadeja and Sundar).”

Tensions between England and India had died down in Manchester after the rancour at Lord’s earlier this month although this latest flashpoint adds another layer of drama to this week’s fifth and final Test.

Pietersen added: “The Stokes issue should NOT distract from the batters who batted to save the Test Match! Outstanding effort and one which makes The Oval a v v important Test.

“Every BIG series I played in had needle and some sort of controversy at some stage. Enjoy this controversy leading into the 5th Test. It’s what makes a series memorable!”