Days after starting a debate about the calibre of bowlers being better 25 years ago, England ex-cricketer Kevin Pietersen has yet again stirred the pot. The England international, who played 104 Tests, 136 ODIs and 37 T20Is between 2005 and 2013, is known for his flamboyant views on social media, akin to his batting style.
"I see 4.6M people viewed my tweet about bowling being way better 25 years ago," wrote Pietersen on X (formerly Twitter), adding: "I gave a list of 22 bowlers from back then. I'm still waiting for someone to name me 10 bowlers who are bowling at present who'd make that list please?"
Pietersen's fresh statement comes after he claimed there was a noticeable decline in the standard of quality bowling across Test-playing nations.
"Don't shout at me but batting these days is way easier than 20/25 years ago! Probably twice as hard back then!" Pietersen said.
See the post here:
I see 4.6M people viewed my tweet about bowling being way better 25 years ago.
— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) July 28, 2025
I gave a list of 22 bowlers from back then.
I'm still waiting for someone to name me 10 bowlers who are bowling at present who'd make that list please?
Pietersen named a host of bowlers from the past eras and challenged his readers to name 10 contemporary bowlers who can be compared with them.
"Waqar, Shoaib, Akram, Mushtaq, Kumble, Srinath, Harbhajan, Donald, Pollock, Klusener, Gough, McGrath, Lee, Warne, Gillespie, Bond, Vettori, Cairns, Vaas, Murali, Curtley, Courtney and the list could go on and on..." "I've named 22 above. Please name me 10 modern day bowlers that can compare to the names above?," he added.
His statement came in the backdrop of his countryman, Joe Root, going past Australian great, Ricky Ponting, to climb to second place in the all-time list of Test run scorers.
Don't shout at me but batting these days is way easier than 20/25 years ago! Probably twice as hard back then!
— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) July 26, 2025
Waqar, Shoaib, Akram, Mushtaq, Kumble, Srinath, Harbhajan, Donald, Pollock, Klusener, Gough, McGrath, Lee, Warne, Gillespie, Bond, Vettori, Cairns, Vaas, Murali,…
'Simple fact is...'
As Pietersen's fresh post went viral, a section of social media users disagreed with his assessment, while others questioned if the comparison was fair in the first place.
"They were bowling on more bowler-friendly pitches as well, in general. Probably the biggest things cricket is missing right now is a strong West Indies, a few genuine quicks, and 1-2 spinners who really rip it," said one user while another added: "KP were they really better or did the uncovered pitches provide more assistance."
A third commented: "Simple fact is there isn't. Starc, Hazlewood, Cummins, Bumrah, Rabada, are the only ones I can think of in modern-day cricket."
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