Kevin Pietersen shares his views on England's new era

Former England player Kevin Pietersen stated that the current approach shown by the team led by Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes in the longer format would have suited his style of play. The veteran has represented England in 104 Tests in a nine-year career, having a strike rate of 61.72.

Under the previous captain, Joe Root, England were thrashed 4-0 in the Ashes, and they crashed to a 1-0 series defeat in the Caribbean, paving the way for Ben Stokes to take charge. Along with him, former New Zealand player Brendon McCullum was appointed as the head coach of the Test team, leading England to play the game aggressively.

Meanwhile, calling himself an admirer of 'Bazball', Kevin Pietersen has said in an interaction with The Cricketer: "I love the way the team are playing now. It's exciting, it's positive, and I think you'll see it bring the best out of the players. If I had been given the trust the players in this team have been given under the new management, I would have felt free to play as I knew I did at my best. I'd have loved to play under them. I really would."

Pietersen smashed 8181 runs in Tests at a good average of 47.29, and he believes that he would have scored more runs if he had played under the current regime. 

He said: "I can only imagine how much happier I would have been, how much better I would have been, playing under this management regime. I would have scored a load more runs. I would have scored so many more runs."

The swashbuckling player's career ended early after a fallout with the team management after the 2013-14 Ashes series. However, he continued to play franchise cricket before retiring in 2018.

On the other hand, England chose to play with an unorthodox approach after appointing two different coaches for the longer format and the limited-overs cricket. Matthew Mott was selected to coach the white-ball unit, whereas McCullum took over the coaching duties in the longest format.

While expressing his desire to be a part of England's new era, Pietersen said: "There's a lot of water under the bridge with me and England. But Rob Key is a good buddy. I speak to him and all the other guys. I would be very happy to contribute in any way I can."

The Ben Stokes-led England side will next play a home series against South Africa. The two teams will compete in an all-format series, which includes three Tests as part of the World Test Championship (WTC).