‘Sad day’ – England legend Kevin Pietersen reacts to Joe Root’s resignation and reveals Ben Stokes captaincy fear

Kevin Pietersen says Joe Root’s resignation marked a ‘sad day for English cricket’ as he was ‘let down by his superiors’ during his tenure as Test captain.

Root stepped down from the role on Friday and holds the record for the highest number of matches, wins and defeats as England skipper.

The 31-year-old was appointed Sir Alastair Cook’s successor in 2017 and saw his side lose to West Indies last month and suffer a 4-0 Ashes defeat in Australia over the winter.

Despite England’s record struggles – they have won just one of their last 17 Tests – Pietersen has defended Root and says he did not receive enough support – both from his team-mates and the ECB – to succeed as captain.

‘It’s a sad day for English cricket that a player, team-mate and person as good as Joe Root has had to make this decision,’ Pietersen told Betway.

‘Root is one of England’s greatest ever batters, arguably the greatest. Perhaps even more importantly, he is exactly the kind of person who should have succeeded as England captain.

‘I’m incredibly disappointed that somebody of his ilk has had to stand down when he’s been let down by his superiors.

‘The demise of the England Test team is not Joe Root’s fault. The issue is at the ECB with the administrators. The system is faulty.

‘There have been times during Root’s captaincy when it looked like he might be onto something. They won 3-1 in South Africa just over two years ago and then won back-to-back series at home in the summer of 2020.

‘Ultimately, though, for all the good work he was doing behind the scenes, the calibre of player that the system was producing was never going to be enough for his captaincy to be a success.’

All-rounder Ben Stokes looks set to take over from Root but Pietersen has stressed that