British press sees huge task for Pietersen after England slump 15 Nov, 2008 © AFP
 England captain Kevin Pietersen during the first one-dayer against India The British press predicted on Saturday that England captain Kevin Pietersen faced a daunting task to lift his demoralised side after their crushing one-day defeat to India. England were subjected to one of their heaviest ever one-day defeats on Friday, as India cruised to victory by 158 runs in the first game of a seven-match series in Rajkot. Headlining its coverage "Perfect Humiliation", the Daily Mail said: "Kevin Pietersen could do no wrong when he led England to victory in his first five matches as official captain. "But he has been given a painful reminder of how tough life can be in the highest office after a chastening few weeks." The Sun said Pietersen's winter was "lurching towards crisis proportions". The tabloid said England had been "blasted by a man wearing a corset," referring to Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh, who tore England apart with a not-out 138 runs despite wearing protection for a bad back. The Times accused England of being "badly underprepared" for the India tour and said the tight schedule allowed little time for in-depth practice sessions to change tactics and put things right. The paper said the England players appeared to be suffering a lingering depression from their defeat in the million-dollar-a-man Stanford match earlier this month. "The Stanford legacy is scrambled minds," it concluded, warning that Pietersen's men had to act quickly "to restate their commitment on the field". | 
