Pietersen like a spoilt child - Boycott

Geoff Boycott has criticised Kevin Pietersen for acting like a "spoilt child" and called for the team management to rein him in. In the first Ashes Test at Cardiff, Pietersen looked well set on 69 when he got out to a paddle-sweep which attracted considerable criticism.

"Pietersen is like a spoilt child, the family favourite who can get away with anything because he is the golden boy," Boycott wrote in the Daily Telegraph. "Until someone takes the trouble to discipline him he will keep making the same stupid mistakes over and over again."

But Boycott was not confident that England's captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower were capable of reprimanding Pietersen. "My concern is that there is no one in the England set up who will go up to Pietersen and tell him that this is not good enough," he said. "Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower are both quiet men and frankly I do not think they have got the courage."

England held on to a draw in the Test after the last-wicket pair of Jimmy Anderson and Monty Panesar batted out close to 12 overs to save the game. Boycott questioned England's ability to adapt to different match situations. "The trouble with England's batsmen is that they are one-dimensional. They only want to play with an attacking mentality, and when they are presented with a situation that demands a different approach, they cannot adapt."

He also came down hard on Strauss's "shocking" captaincy. "He didn't open with Andrew Flintoff, even though Flintoff terrorised Simon Katich four years ago and caused all the left-handers problems," he wrote. "It was obvious England should have opened with Flintoff to see if there was still any psychological damage there. He is also the best bowler.

"Strauss then went too defensive too early, stationing too many men on the boundary for bad balls. He does not have a feel for the nuances of the game."