Ashes 2023: Kevin Pietersen feels that Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne will be heading into the Lord’s Test under a lot of pressure after failing to perform at Edgbaston. Steve Smith could only get 22 runs in two innings in the Edgbaston Test.
Kevin Pietersen has said that the pressure will be on Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne to perform in the Lord’s Test of Ashes 2023 after having failed to deliver at Edgbaston.
Labuschagne and Smith came into the first Ashes Test as the No.1 and No.2 ranked Test batters in the world but failed to make a mark in the match. Smith could only score 22 runs in both innings, while Labuschagne was dismissed for a duck by Stuart Broad on the first ball he faced in the match.
The former England captain said that a big player will be under tremendous pressure when he fails to deliver in the first match. Pietersen said that there is no guarantee that both men will deliver at Lord’s, especially with the way Stuart Broad is bowling.
“Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne didn’t get any runs in the first Test because Stuart Broad was too good for them.”
“People are saying Smith and Labuschagne aren’t going to miss out at Lord’s. They might not, but I also know when you come in as a big player and you miss out in the first Test match, you’re under tremendous pressure to perform in the second.”
