Gillespie refutes KP's call to franchise County Cricket in wake of Stokes masterclass

Pietersen has been calling for private players to take over the county cricket viz-a-viz T20 leagues like the Indian Premier League. On Saturday, the former batsman posted a series of tweets where he once again called for the same.

Pietersen's tweets came in the wake of a blistering hundred by the newly-appointed Test captain Ben Stokes in a Division 02 championship match for Durham against Worcestershire on Friday.

Pietersen acknowledged Stokes' quality and pointed out that it came against a poor bowling attack. "We ALL know the absolute quality of Ben Stokes. But, have a look at this bowling, and please tell me that County Cricket doesn't need to be franchised?!" he wrote.

He also touched upon the fact that the standard of county cricket has fallen massively from the time he started playing, and that's reflective of England's state in Test cricket at the moment.

"County Cricket in the early 2000s was WAY stronger than what it is now. That system created our world Test ranking #1. The system now and what's been over the last 6/7yrs has ENG Test ranked lowest in 20/30yrs! I played in both eras. So try listening, all you CC lovers!" he added.

Refuting Pietersen's opinion, Gillespie wrote that county cricket has always remained integral to the "cricket landscape", and just because T20 franchise cricket has become prominent, it doesn't mean that the FC cricket is "less relevant".

He said:

"Hey Kev, respect your opinion on this; however, I can't agree. County Cricket has an important place in the cricket landscape. Yes, T20 franchise cricket is becoming very prominent. This does not mean first-class cricket becomes less relevant,"

Meanwhile, Stokes hammered an 88-ball 161 with the help of 8 fours and 17 sixes in what was his first innings after being appointed skipper. He will resume leadership duties for the Test team next month against New Zealand.