"TOO MANY COUNTIES" - Kevin Pietersen asks fans not to blame players after England gets bowled out for 147

Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen has blamed the poor county cricket structure for the team's performance in the first innings of the Ashes Test against Australia. Pietersen's criticism came after the England team got bowled out for just 147 runs within a couple of sessions of the first day of the match.

Kevin Pietersen said that the county system in England has been flawed for a long time now and added that it is not good enough to produce world-class batters.

In his tweet, Kevin Pietersen wrote:

"147 all out. Please don’t blame the players for not being good enough. The county system is completely flawed & WILL NOT produce enough tough & high quality batters. I’ve said this for years now - TOO MANY COUNTIES!"

Also Read | Pat Cummins takes 5 in 1st Test as captain; England bundled out for 147 on Day 1 of 1st Ashes Test

Kevin Pietersen further elaborated that the evolution of franchise cricket has had a massive role to play in the downfall of county cricket. He noted that the youngsters haven't been able to rub shoulders with some of the best in the business since most of the senior players are prioritizing franchise cricket.

"He’ll be lifting the urn as an Ashes-winning captain in a few weeks’ time" - Kevin Pietersen on Pat Cummins

Just before the beginning of the first Test, Kevin Pietersen expressed curiosity as to how Pat Cummins would perform as Australia's captain. However, he seemed to have no doubts that the pacer would be the one lifting the urn. Pietersen explained:

"It’s difficult to know how [Pat Cummins] will go as captain because bowlers so rarely take charge in Test cricket. Will he over bowl or under bowl himself? How much will he lean on other senior players? I think there’s every chance that he’ll be lifting the urn as an Ashes-winning captain in a few weeks’ time."

Pat Cummins made a brilliant start to his stint as captain, picking up a five-wicket haul right in his first outing as the skipper of the team. Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood chipped in with a couple of wickets each, helping bowl England out for 147 runs. Jos Buttler was the leading run-scorer with 39 runs.