Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen has piled on the pressure on struggling opener Adam Lyth by saying that the batsman looks like ‘he could get out on every single ball’, even as captain Alastair Cook claimed he is on the verge of a “big score” .
Lyth has scored just 72 runs from six innings so far in the Ashes at an average of 12.
His highest score is 37 and the left-hander has looked at sea against the Aussie quicks, struggling to get into double figures. Pietersen said Lyth is finding the transition from first class to Test cricket difficult.
“Like several others before him, Adam Lyth is finding out the difference between Test cricket and County cricket,” Pietersen said.
“It’s a huge step up and you don’t get as many loose deliveries. He needs to be busier at the crease – occupy it more and look like he owns it and belongs there.
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“At the moment, it looks like he’s there to defend. It looks like he could get out on every single ball. That’s no way to be at the top of the order.”
However, Cook remains confident his fellow opener will be able to silence his critics with a good performance in the fourth Test.
“He (Lyth) hasn’t scored the runs he would have liked but in the last game his method looked a lot more solid even if he didn’t get the runs,” Cook said. “But I do believe there is a big score around the corner.”
