London, July 12: Kevin Pietersen said it was time for the England cricket team to launch a spirited fightback to avoid being crushed by Australia.
England went into Sunday’s final day of the first Test in Cardiff on 20 for two, still needing a further 219 runs to make Australia bat again.
“We’ve put ourselves under a hell of a lot of pressure and it’s up to us to stand up and be counted now,” Pietersen told the News of the World newspaper.
“We have to try and avoid being rolled over ourselves and being beaten by an innings. We need to make a big statement that we are going to fight and fight and fight for the rest of the summer. Otherwise it will be a long one.
“This isn’t the most important Test match of the summer but we have to try and fight in order to make that statement.”
He added: “I don’t think there’s anything we can learn from them. We know as a batting unit we need to score big hundreds in order to put ourselves in stronger positions.”
But England’s Ravi Bopara said Australia captain Ricky Ponting had taught him a thing or two about how to bat at number three.
“His 150 here was a big lesson for me in what is required if I want to make a difference at the highest level,” the Essex right-hander wrote in The Mail on Sunday newspaper.
“Watching the Aussie skipper at close range was not exactly what we had in mind for the first Ashes Test — but at least I was able to observe the qualities that make him such a great batsman.
“What made the biggest impression on me was the strong positions he got into on the back and front foot. He showed me I still have a lot to learn.”
Michael Vaughan, who captained England to Ashes victory on Australia’s last tour in 2005, said it was “vital” for England to escape from the first Test at Sophia Gardens with a draw.
“I have always believed the victorious team in Cardiff would go on to win the Ashes so if we can get away with a draw then there is hope,” he wrote in The Sunday Telegraph newspaper.
But if we lose then it will be very hard to recover and beat this Australia side, which has looked totally united and well-motivated.
“All is not lost for England. They can still play a major role in this series,” he said, outlining a six-point plan for victory.
It ran: “Remember this is not 2005”; “Throw Ponting out of his comfort zone”; “Put your trust in Fred (Andrew Flintoff)”; “Don’t doubt Ponting the captain”; “Don’t forget Monty (Panesar) loves Lord’s”, and “Above all don’t panic”.
——Agenices