Kevin Pietersen defends Joe Root's captaincy: "The set-up stinks"

Pietersen, one of Root's predecessors as national skipper, says it is wrong to demand Root be replaced following a run of one Test win in 17 matches

Kevin Pietersen has launched a wholehearted defence of Joe Root's England captaincy, saying: "the set-up stinks".

Pietersen, one of Root's predecessors as national skipper, says it is wrong to demand Root be replaced following a run of one Test win in 17 matches.

Instead, the former batsman has once again made his case that it is the county cricket pathway - and not the captain - which is the problem.

Pietersen, who recently promoted his vision for a streamlined, franchised version of first-class cricket in England and Wales, doubled down on his criticism of the domestic structure.

And he insisted that it is wrong to place the blame at the feet of Root.

^{Joe Root's captaincy has come under scrutiny after a run of one Test win in 17 attempts (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)}

"Who else is going to captain them? You are only as good as your players. As a coach you are only good as your players and as a captain you are only as good as your players," Pietersen told Talksport.

"My question is who is going to take over and who is going to do a better job with the players they've got?

"Forget Joe Root, it's about the players. Who is going to do a better job with the calibre of players playing Test cricket for England?”

"Don't point fingers at Joe Root. Understand the set-up, the set-up stinks."

Pietersen's blueprint for reform of the English county network caused uproar among members and supporters when he first floated the idea last year.

But that reaction has not deterred him.

"Every time I talk about English cricket or county cricket on social media I get cleaned out," he said.

"It's not the fault of county cricket, it's the invention of the IPL and the T20 tournaments around the world.

^{Kevin Pietersen has staunchly defended Root (Stu Forster/Getty Images)}

"The best players are earning millions playing the shortest format of the game."

"You have to franchise county cricket and bring the best players together playing against each other as much as possible.

"Get rid of the riff raff. There are too many counties. There are people smart enough to work out how you structure it, but you bring the best players to eight or nine teams.

"Then you pay some top overseas players the big bucks to come and play eight or nine first-class games. Pay them £500,000, £750,000, £1million… I don't care. You will get money from broadcast rights."

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