England axe hanging over coach Moores

A rift has developed between Peter Moores, left, and England captain Kevin Pietersen.


Hugh Morris, the managing director of the England cricket team, will spend the weekend deciding whether to sack the coach, Peter Moores, and is likely to cancel a holiday scheduled for next week if he fails to reach a conclusion.

Morris must choose due to a rift between the coach and Kevin Pietersen, the captain, who feels that Moores is out of his depth and the relationship between the two is damaged beyond repair.

The decision will be the most difficult of Morris's professional life as Moores is one of his closest friends in the game. The friendship goes back to when they played for the England Schools Under-19 side in 1981. Morris was one of Moores' strongest backers when the former Sussex coach replaced Duncan Fletcher in April 2007.

Giles Clarke, the England and Wales Cricket Board chairman, said yesterday: "All team matters are dealt with by Hugh Morris. There will be a full review of the tour of India, which was a difficult tour in view of what happened before it. I don't believe all this stuff I'm reading about Michael Vaughan."

That was a reference to reports that ­Pietersen is threatening to quit over Vaughan's exclusion from the England squad to tour West Indies this month. Pietersen did want Vaughan in and Moores did not, but a source close to the ECB said last night: "The Vaughan issue is something of a red herring. The problem goes back further than that."

The crux of the problem is that the England captain is bright enough to realise he is not quite bright enough, at least where the tactical nuances that made Vaughan such a fine captain are concerned.

Pietersen has not been taken by Moores' boot-camp philosophy and, like Vaughan before him, feels that Moores, a county player who never got near Tests, is not up to it. Moores has lost four of his seven Test series and the likes of Monty Panesar have not progressed. Moores, Pietersen and Morris were unavailable for comment.

Kevin Pietersen and Peter Moores rift intensifies for England

Exit this way: Peter Moores and Kevin Pietersen rift looks set to be decided by ECB

England looked like having to decide between keeping Kevin Pietersen as captain or Peter Moores as coach after the star batsman called for an end to the duo's "unhealthy" relationship.

According to reports, there appeared "little prospect" of the pair working together on the upcoming tour of the West Indies, where England will look to gather momentum ahead of their bid to reclaim the Ashes later this year.

The News of the World said there had been a "complete breakdown in what was an already fraught relationship" while attempts by England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) managing director Hugh Morris to broker a peace deal between Pietersen and Moores now had an "impossible" chance of success.

Pietersen, who broke off from a holiday in his native South Africa to hold talks with Morris on Saturday, stopped short of calling for Moores's sacking.

But the 28-year-old said: "This situation is not healthy, we have to make sure it is settled as soon as possible and certainly before we fly off to the West Indies.

"Everybody has to have the same aims and pull in the same direction for the good of the England team."

Contrary to earlier reports, the NoW said the exclusion of former England captain Michael Vaughan from the West Indies squad was not the cause of Pietersen's bust-up with Moores, insisting the pair had already fallen out.

Meanwhile, former England captain David Gower believes Pietersen will win the power struggle.

"It's a bit of a mess but I've got a feeling Kevin Pietersen will get his way," Gower said.

"I think they (the ECB) are going to have to go with their captain because their captain is a mightily important figure in what happens this year and over the next few years.

"I think they are going to have to back their captain."

However, a "dressing-room source" told the newspaper: "There is no way Pietersen and Moores can work together, they're just too far apart.

"The ECB are damned if they do and damned if they don't. If they back KP, then there's massive problems among the backroom staff.

"But if they go with the coach, then the best player becomes disillusioned, they possibly lose a captain and there is a huge fracture."

Pietersen will win power struggle: Gower

London (PTI): Two former England captains David Gower and Alec Stewart have backed incumbent Kevin Pietersen in his power struggle with coach Peter Moores, saying the South Africa-born dashing batsman is an indispensable figure in the country's cricket.

Miffed at the exclusion of former captain Michael Vaughan for this month's West Indies tour, Pietersen has given the ultimatum to England and Wales Cricket Board to choose between him and Moores.

Gower believes Pietersen would come out on top if the power-brokers are forced to choose between the pair.

"It's a bit of a mess but I've got a feeling Kevin Pietersen will get his way," he told BBC Radio Five Live's Sportsweek programme.

"Hugh Morris (ECB managing director) has an interesting task on his hands to mediate between the two if he can. I think they are going to have to go with their captain because he is a mightily important figure in what happens this year and over the next few years. He is a fantastic player, and he has the chance to be a good captain. He is still learning that trade, as we know -- he's far from being a great captain yet. I think they are going to have to back their captain."

Stewart believes a fractious relationship could seriously damage the team and said Moores will have to find out a way to work with Pietersen.

"Pietersen is a strong individual who likes to lead from the front and I have no problem with this. Moores must strike a happy medium as to who runs things where and when," Stewart said

"It is vital that a healthy working relationship between these two is in place even if socially they don't mix -- and a united front is paramount so that there is no chance of a split within the camp."

England still in with a chance: Swann

Mohali: Restricting India to 453 is a job well done and Kevin Pietersen and his men are now very much back in the final Test, asserts England off-spinner Graeme Swann.

With centurions Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid, partners in a record 314-run second-wicket stand, cruising merrily after lunch, Swann triggered a top-order collapse with a three-wicket burst, claiming both the overnight batsmen and Sachin Tendulkar.

And with India eventually being bowled out for 453, Swann believes England stood a chance to win the game and level the two-match series which they trail 0-1.

"(Restricting them to) 450, we did very well to keep ourselves in the game. A score around 500-550 and we were out of it. There are three days of cricket to go and if we can get a very big total over the next two days and get any sort of lead, anything's possible on the last day," Swann asserted.

"Especially after what we saw in Chennai," said the Englishman, still nursing the defeat.

"At lunch time, they were 302 for one and we didn't no where the next wicket will come from. Luckily we have a light-hearted dressing room and we were laughing at the face of adversity. The two wickets after lunch got us back in the match. We were very happy with the hour and got us into a position where it can affect the result of the game," he said.

The onus, he said, was now on the batsmen to negate the threat of India's two-pronged spin attack comprising Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra.

"The wicket was very flat there today. (Andrew) Flintoff was phenomenal with the pace he got out of the wicket, frightening the way he was getting it through," said Swann.

"It would be good for batting the next two days. How we negate their spinners will be important for us," Swann said.

On his scalps, Swann said though he cherished all three wickets, Tendulkar's was definitely the special one.

"Still early in Test career and so many good Indian players. No doubt who the number one player in the team was. It was nice to get him out today," the Nottinghamshire spinner said.

Like in Chennai, Swann completely outshone England's frontline spinner Monty Panesar here but still seemed to have enough respect for his spin colleague.

"I don't know about closing the gap. I have only played two games. Each series I go into all I can think of is if I can get a game and then if I can play the next series. There is a Caribbean tour coming along and I'll be delighted if I play in it.

"Monty is a class bowler, if I can have anything like the success he has had I will be very lucky," he added.

Swann admitted failure to stop India chasing down 387 in the Chennai Test still rankled him.

"Me and Monty were expected to win the game in Chennai. In the end, we were outplayed by a genius on the day... Monty's is a class act and we have talked about how we are going to take wickets in this game and bowling today he has showed he is still bowling well," he said.

On this match, Swann said Gambhir and Dravid, especially the latter, did a great job for India.

"It's a very good pitch. Once you get a partnership, it's is important to get going and get a very big one. Gambhir and Dravid did so well. Dravid was exceptional, he was under so much pressure from the whole of India, but didn't offer us any chance and played really well," Swann said.

After India were bowled out, England openers Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss came out to bat but retreated back into the pavilion once the umpires offered them the light.

Incidentally, the sun soon came out and there was confusion whether play would resume. Swann said he understood the crowd's confusion but ICC rules leave no such provision.

"One of the rules of the game is that if you come off in extra time you cannot go back. It's disappointing for the crowd but you need to have rules and draw the line somewhere," he added.

No need to change our approach: Pietersen

Kevin Pietersen does not believe his batting colleagues were negative in their approach in the epic Chennai Test and insists the visitors need not change their game in the final Test against India either.

"In Chennai, we got into a good position to win the match and India eventually chased down a score which created a great history. I don't think we need to change much," Pietersen told reporters ahead of the second Test starting on Friday.

"In Chennai, we played fantastic cricket for three and half days. The fourth and fifth days were not our days and unfortunately we lost. But we played fantastic cricket there and I don't think there is any reason to change our approach," he explained.

Incidentally, England batting coach and former Zimbabwe batsman Andy Flower was among those who believed England lost the momentum in Chennai because of their slow batting there. Pietersen, meanwhile, kept the cards close to his chest and decided not to announce the playing XI for the final match of the series.

"We have not decided the side, sorry. There are a few things we are looking into and a final decision would be taken only tomorrow," he said.

The England management is mulling replacing out-of-form Ian Bell with Owais Shah while seamer Stuart Broad is fit to play, at the cost of either Steve Harmison or James Anderson both of whom had an average outing in Chennai.

Pietersen said more than replacing off-colour players, he was looking into the whole picture. "It's pretty much full work and we are looking at the whole thing. There are guys who have come on this trip who are raring to go and wanting to play and it's just about making a decision on who the best team is to try and win a Test match and try and play positive cricket," he said.

Pietersen admitted Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma troubled them in Chennai with their grasp of reverse swing and felt England too needed to get it going if they are to win the Test here and level the series.

"I definitely think it's going to be crucial and so we would try to get some reverse swing here. Unfortunately, we didn't get much of it in Chennai, which nullified a few things in bits and pieces. The surface is brazen here and we are looking to get some reverse swing going," he said.

According to him, the defeat in Chennai has left England with the lone option of winning the match here and level the series, which they are quite capable of.

"It's simple now. We have to get hard here. In Chennai, we won 70 per cent of the Test. Though we lost the match, the boys can be proud of how they performed. After losing Stanford Super Series and then the 5-0 defeat in the ODI series (against India), to come so close before losing the match in Chennai was a brilliant show," he said.

Against a star-studded Indian batting order, job, however, would not be easy, admitted Pietersen.

"It's a pretty good batting lineup. If we get rid of Gautam (Gambhir), and then (Virender) Sehwag, you have Rahul Dravid and then freak of a bloke at number four (Sachin Tendulkar). It gets to number 5,6,7...

"I don't think the Sehwag-Gambhir pair as the biggest hurdle for us, there are quite a few. But of course Sehwag's wicket is crucial. He plays a different expansive game and it would be a tough task for our bowlers," he said.

Pietersen said he has sought tips from a few former captains and would like to put them to use whenever required. "It's going to be tough but I have got some advice from some of the former captains and you take them with you when going gets tough," he said.

Among others, Pietersen had a lengthy discussion with Mike Brearley in the flight from Chennai to Chandigarh.