‘Go into combat mode and attack’ - Kevin Pietersen reflects on England’s possible approach ahead of Ashes

With the much-anticipated Ashes series right around the corner, both England and Australia will look to stay on top of their games as the series is all set to kick off from June 16. With the first Test being held at Edgbaston, Birmingham, it could be interesting to see whether England are able to reclaim the iconic urn from the Aussies or if the Pat Cummins-led side can maintain their stronghold over the same.

With the series right around the corner, cricket pundits have come forward to put forth their predictions. Many legends like Glenn McGrath, Michael Vaughan, and Alastair Cook gave their take on who they thought could win the rivalry series. Former English cricketer Kevin Pietersen also joined the list to give their predictions for the series. Pietersen opined that for England to beat Australia, the best way would be to go on an all-out attack.

"The way to beat Australia is to go into combat mode and attack. When you fight fire with fire against Australia, you have a way better chance than being tactical, pragmatic, and slow. You’ve really got to take the attack to them," Pietersen was quoted by National World.

"The way England are playing at the moment, they mustn’t change that approach. They must go out against Australia on Friday and from ball one, it’s just aggression, aggression, aggression," he added.

It’s how we beat Australia in 2005: Pietersen

The 42-year-old also reflected on the 2005 Ashes, where playing aggressively against the Aussies got them the win, which also started the revolution of English cricket. 

"It’s how we beat Australia in 2005 and started that transformation in English cricket. It hasn’t happened in the last couple of Ashes series, and I think that is the only way in which England can win this," Pietersen said.

"Whoever bats best in the series is going to win the series, for sure. I’ve always said batters get you sponsorships and bowlers win you championships, but I just think that you’ve got to get those runs," he added.