Saturday 29 November 2014 15:33, UK
Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen has urged Alastair Cook to resign as captain of the one-day side following a humbling eight-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka.
Pietersen, 34, was dropped from the squad by the England and Wales Cricket board in February and subsequently released an autobiography claiming the England dressing room had been beset by a bullying culture.
His personal relationship with former team-mate Cook has also been strained and reportedly broke down during last winter's disastrous Ashes tour.
In the wake of England's eight-wicket loss to Sri Lanka in Colombo, which put Cook's side 2-0 down in a seven-match series, Pietersen took to Twitter to express his concern over Cook's captaincy while demanding Alex Hales is elevated to an opening batsman's position.
He tweeted: "Dear Alastair, if you care about England's chances this winter, pls resign and just concentrate on Test cricket...#getHalesin".
Nottinghamshire player Hales was dropped as Cook's opening partner and replaced by Moeen Ali, who made only two runs on Saturday. Cook managed only 22 runs before being bowled by Tillakaratne Dilshan.
Following the defeat in Colombo, Cook was asked for a response to Pietersen's comments.
"It's a good job I'm not on social media," the England captain said initially.
Pressed, he added: "People are totally entitled to their view. That's the nature of the beast when you're on the outside.
"People believe what they want to believe. In our dressing-room, we've got to stay strong as a group.
Pietersen was not the only person calling for Cook to step down, with Sky Sports' Ian Botham also believing England's one-day international side would be better off without the left-handed opener.
Cook has not made an ODI hundred in 41 innings, a barren run stretching back more than two years, and admits that the pressure is on to make a big score soon.
He added: "I think you feel the heat when you're not scoring runs. If you have two games at the start of a tour, and don't score them, you're naturally going to start feeling that.
"That's only natural. (But) I've just got to do what I keep doing, believing in myself, doing my basics right."
