Kevin Pietersen receives his series-ending blow from Glenn McGrath © Getty Images

Allan Border and Graham Thorpe have questioned the speed at which Kevin Pietersen left the tour of Australia after cracking a rib. Pietersen, who was England's best batsman in the Test series, was hit on the chest by Glenn McGrath in a one-day game on January 12 and ruled out of the rest of the series.

However, Border said on Inside Cricket Pietersen could have stayed in Australia while the problem healed. "He was on the plane before the x-ray came back," Border said. "If he's got a broken rib, fair enough, but it wasn't displaced broken. It was just cracked and given two weeks' break he could be playing."

Thorpe, the former England batsman, agreed that Pietersen was "out of Australia pretty quick". Since Pietersen left the squad England have struggled with the bat and have won only one match in the CB Series. England's second-last game of the preliminary rounds is against Australia at Sydney on Friday and they need bonus-point wins in both of the fixtures to be sure of reaching the finals.