GILES: KP CORRECT
But Pope (right) and Denly rebuilt the innings superbly before Jos Buttler was able to capitalise in a way that England hope he can from No.7.
Pope’s 88 was a high-quality innings from a 21- year- old of whom much is expected now he will be able to bed in at No.6.
He has averaged 96 in five f i rst- class matches since returning from shoulder surgery and looked a class act once again.
But the sight of
No.3 Denly batting with elegant fluency after an ankle injury that threatened to rule him out of the tour was a welcome one, especially since his last Test innings was a match-winning 94 against the Aussies at The Oval.
“I was probably thinking my tour was over,” he added.
“But I’ve been on the ice machine, an amazing bit of kit,
ASHLEY GILES has admitted Kevin Pietersen was right when it came to his demands over family time away from the international treadmill.
KP (left) spent large parts of his career rucking over these issues and admits that he might not have got his point across in the most subtle of ways with the ECB hierarchy.
But with player mental health and welfare being taken more seriously and, if it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t have been playing now.
“It feels fine and I’m delighted because sitting on the sidelines does make you hungry to go and perform. Playing in that Ashes series, being exposed to those bowlers and being the challenge it was, I’ve come out of it a more confident player.
“It would be nice to get that first Test hundred on this trip.”
These two matches against the Kiwis are about England finding their identity as a Test side and getting players to fulfil more traditional roles.
The Test team has been skittish – now is the time for less fire and more patience. and empathetically, Giles has conceded the game has had to come around to Pietersen’s way of thinking.
“The mental wellbeing and welfare of players is crucial,” said the England cricket managing director on BBC Test Match Special. “Our care of them and their families is really important.
“KP’S not as silly as he looks. He was making these points and he was quite right.”