England coach Andy Flower says batsman Pietersen can not use a pain in his knee as an excuse for bad performances.
One of England’s key players, Kevin Pietersen, missed nearly an hour-and-a-half of playing time during the Three Lions’ second Test against New Zealand.
The number four also failed to perform with the bat, making 0 in the first innings and just 12 in the second.
Despite complaining about a pain in his knee, England’s head coach Andy Flower has said that Pietersen will just have to play through it.
“Kevin’s got a little bit of pain in his right knee,” said Flower in the Telegraph.
“But most of the players play with something sore most of the time.”
Flower has been slightly critical of how Pietersen has dealt with injuries in the past, after the South African-born player pulled out halfway through the 2011 World Cup with a hernia injury. The England coach told the Telegraph at the time that it was simply a “pain management situation.”
Pietersen is just one of a number of England’s batting line-up who failed to perform in their first innings slump to 167 all-out against NZ, in the first Test.
However, although the rest of England’s top order salvaged the game in the second innings, with centuries from the two openers and a solid 54 from Jonathan Trott at number three, Pietersen’s own contribution of 12 was again disappointing.
It seems that Andy Flower will be hoping for more than excuses from his batsman when England start the second Test against the Black Caps in Wellington on Wednesday.
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