Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen has said that Test captain Joe Root needs to ‘stamp his authority’ in the upcoming Test against New Zealand.

“Joe Root really needs to stamp his authority on the England team in this series. He needs to bring out his ideas and say: ‘This is what I’ll be doing, this is what you’ll be doing, this is how we’ll play’,” Pietersen wrote in Betway.

“He has a big opportunity to do that in a series against New Zealand, because it’s actually quite difficult to watch back home. The time zone doesn’t work. You feel that, as a player, not as many people are watching the game. So he has a chance to find his game under the radar, because in South Africa it’s going to be a lot tougher,” he said.

England players have come under the scanner after they failed to win the Ashes which ended in a 2-2 drawn series against Australia at home.

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“There is lots of chat about England’s tempo with the bat, but they need to find the right players before they think too much about that,” Kevin Pietersen wrote.

“Rory Burns has been doing absolutely fine at the top of the order, but they’ve been chopping and changing his partner. When I played we had Strauss and Cook at the top, and Trott at three. That was incredibly formidable – teams had to get past that before they got into the other batters. But there was never, ever a directive from the captain or coach about how many runs we want in a session or a day,” he shared.

“It’s about getting the players that you’re confident in, then the style of play will follow. The best players in the world understand the conditions, they play the situations and they understand what the team needs. It’s a fun place to be when you start playing situations and not thinking about your place. You’re just immersed in it and you start playing your game tactically,”  Kevin Pietersen expressed.