Michael Vaughan claims Kevin Pietersen ‘is talking nonsense’, fires back at former teammate's controversial claim

Former England captain Michael Vaughan weighed in on an ongoing debate regarding whether batting in the current era of Test cricket is easier than it was during his playing days in the early 2000s, vehemently disagreeing with his former teammate Kevin Pietersen by arguing it remains incredibly tough to bat in the modern day. Former England captain Michael Vaughan shot back at his former teammate Kevin Pietersen with some warring words.(Getty)

Responding to a point raised by Pietersen on his X account, Vaughan certainly didn’t bite his words as he let his countryman know his thoughts.

"I think he's talking nonsense,” said Vaughan on Sony Sports Network. “I have looked at the last six or seven years closely. You look at the Indian seamers now, they are as good as they ever had. You look at the Australian attack, that trio that Australia had, it is as good as they have had.”

Pietersen had previously argued that batting was ‘probably twice as hard back then’, speaking of his playing years and naming the great bowlers of his era and asking others to name 10 players who could stand at that level in the current era. However, Vaughan was ready to meet the challenge, and pointed out that there is no lack of quality bowlers in world cricket at the moment.

“You go to South Africa, Rabada and Jansen. You go to New Zealand, Boult, Southee. I've loved the last few years of Test match cricket because it has been competitive,” argued Vaughan. “I think this era of batting, I don't think it has been any easier than any other era. I think there's some wonderful bowlers around.”

‘Maybe not during Pietersen’s time…'

Moreover, Vaughan went on to point out that the runs scored by batters in the modern day don’t suddenly lose value for their runs, given that application and effort are still needed in the format.

"You still have to score runs. Irrespective of the bowling you are facing, you still have to go get the runs. Don't take anything away from the current players,” expressed Vaughan. “Look at the way they have batted. They have batted with a lot more aggression than earlier times, maybe not during Kevin Pietersen's time. I don't take anything away from the runs that have been scored in recent times.”

Vaughan also has the support of the statisticians, with the numbers showing that batting during the 2000s only got tougher and tougher heading into the modern day. Whether the bowlers of today will be remembered as fondly as the bowlers of yesteryear remains to be seen.

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