'Writing was on the wall' - Kevin Pietersen takes a dig at England's 'Bazball' regime after Oval defeat

Former batter Kevin Pietersen has taken a dig at England's 'Bazball' regime under coach Brendon McCullum, following their hefty 253-run defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the second Test match at the Oval. 

England have been going through a rough patch, both on and off the field. A much-changed Three Lions came into the series against New Zealand with high hopes following their 4-1 Ashes defeat in the winter. Despite winning the first Test at Lord's, the cracks in their style of play were still

widely evident during their loss in South London. To top it off, captain Ben Stokes, along with Gus Atkinson, was involved in a nightclub brawl, which saw them left out of the team.

Pietersen strongly believes that the knives are out for England's Test side due to the recent antics. However, he stated that the array of criticism was bound to arise eventually due to the nature of the side's recent defeats, thanks to the media's power in the country. 

"Jeepers - the [knives] are out for Bazball, a lot quicker than I expected. But, the writing was on the wall a few weeks ago. A wise friend once told me about here in the UK…the pen is mightier than the sword," Kevin Pietersen shared on X (formerly Twitter). 

Jeepers - the 🔪🔪🔪🔪 are out for Bazball, a lot quicker than I expected.
But, the writing was on the wall a few weeks ago.
A wise friend once told me about here in the UK…the pen is mightier than the sword.

— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) June 22, 2026

To make matters worse for England, they were deducted 12 World Test Championship (WTC) points after maintaining a slow over-rate during their defeat at the Oval and were also fined 50 per cent of their match fees. Despite winning the first Test, the Three Lions find themselves seventh in the WTC standings, being ahead of just Pakistan and the West Indies. 

England and New Zealand will play the series decider at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, commencing on June 25. Both Stokes and Atkinson have returned to the side after serving a one-match suspension, with the former returning to the side as captain, taking over the armband from Joe Root.