Cow Corner Blog

Sorry pair should both resign

Wed Jan 07 01:08PM

Cow Corner has returned from pasture to madness in the England ranks. According to conflicting reports, Peter Moores has either resigned as England coach or not resigned. Kevin Pietersen has either resigned as England captain, or not resigned.

The truth will out, but Cow hopes both do the decent thing and the humiliated ECB accept their resignations with glee. If either man stays England's hopes of winning the 2009 Ashes are dead in the water.

While Pietersen's credentials as a driven winner are not in question, his capacity to negotiate the choppy waters of cricketing diplomacy has been proved seriously flawed in this bizarre episode.

KP was rightly smarting from Test and one-day defeats in India, but his move to launch a one-man coup against the forlorn Moores was spectacularly ill-advised and indicative of an immaturity which makes England's best player their worst choice as captain.

Pietersen was obviously frustrated, but success as an international captain hinges on the ability to channel frustration and not make rash decisions under pressure. England need a calming and galvanising influence at the helm if they are to seriously test Australia in the summer, and KP is clearly not the man for the job.

Cow, like most sensible cricket followers, is backing Andrew Strauss to take over as captain, with KP freed from the complications of the role to do what he does best - before the responsibility inevitably begins to shackle his batting.

As for Moores, taking over from Duncan Fletcher was never going to be an easy task. The former Sussex coach is clearly well respected within the game, but his inability to inspire the current crop of England players is evident from the lack of numbers coming forward in his defence following a very public bust-up with his captain.

Perhaps his lack of international playing experience is to blame; perhaps he is simply not a big enough personality to play overlord to a team with Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff at its axis. Either way, Moores's association with England appears certain to end with this debacle.

The ECB may defend Moores initially, but Pietersen's standing as the superstar elect of English cricket dictates only one reasonable course of action. Moores will go and KP will step down from the captaincy.

As Simon Barnes wrote in The Times on Tuesday, this ridiculous affair represents a new dawn in sport - where player power has elevated to a point where a captain can fire his coach.

Peter Moores's record as England coach:

One-day internationals: 36 Matches - 14 wins, 18 defeats, 1 tie, 3 No-result

Test matches: 22 matches - 8 wins, 6 defeats, 8 draws

Twenty20 record (not including Stanford matches): 10 matches - 5 Wins, 5 Defeats

Comments1 - 21 of 21

England need to get the coach's role clear. They are not the boss like a football manager. They are there to assist the captain to prepare the team for the match. Cricket is a game that unfolds tactically out on the field of play. For that reason the captain has to be in charge.
That said, the moment Pietersen issued the ultimatum, sack Moores or else, publically from another continent, he was finished. You cannot behave like that in any walk of life.
From bob.edge64 on Wed Jan 07 02:36PM
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What KP did was unforgivable in terms of keeping morale up, BUT, when are we going to move the EWCB out of the Victorian era and develop a professional attitude to the world-wide game. Since the previous Ashes (where we literally bullied Australia into submission), we have seen nothing but archaic selection processes and indecisive/unconfident performances from those in the back room as well as on the pitch. The World will leave us behind if we do not move with the times. Please EWCB, do not let your lack of vision or direction put a Captain at odds with the Coach again...
From sir.knorbert on Wed Jan 07 03:09PM
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I seem to remember the vibe around cow corner at the time KP was made captain was one of "how can someone so selfish and self-centered possibly make a good captain?".
And luckily for us KP has proved us all right, personally i'll be glad to see the back of him as a captain as he's never been a team player. I hope they serve him up a big slice of humble pie and leave him at Heathrow before jetting off to the Windies.
Danger Strauss would have made captain before if it wasn't for his dodgy form with the blade, now he's back on top he's the obvious successor to Vaughen's cool, experienced head.
From sir_skillalot on Wed Jan 07 05:02PM
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Hopefully we won't see Andrew Strauss sitting in the pavilions in the west indies with a vest on displaying horrible tattoos...
an old fashioned cricket fan
From tigles_04 on Wed Jan 07 06:23PM
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Until his two hundreds in india strauss was fighting for his place in the side. Now everyone wants him as captain- its just so repeatitive with english cricket. any player stops performing for a while he then comes under pressure for his place- he then scores one big score and has booked his place for a while. Strauss collingwood bell vaughn- its all the same. Any batsman that cannot book his place in the team in all forms off the game should not be captain so forget strauss and call in rob key as captain bring in bopara and shah
From cspatel3333 on Wed Jan 07 08:19PM
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Once again, the elitist, Olde-School-Tie brigade from the ECB have destroyed a captain who might have made English cricket more aggressive, more popular and more competitive. But no - the boring old MCC farts rule - and the Indians, the Pakistanis, the West Indians and, most of all, the Ozzies, are laughing till their sides split!Who's the new captain? Another Olde-School-Tie who doesn't have the competitive edge to beat Zimbabwe. Oh, but as long as he's a jolly good chap, who cares, eh?
Pathetic, pathetic and even more pathetic. How in Heaven's name can you expect creativity, innovation, tenacity and competitiveness from people who think the sport is still a game for gentlemen?
I should imagine Ricky Ponting will not even bother bringing the Ashes over to England - fat chance of us winning them !
From clive.britcher on Thu Jan 08 01:07AM
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Happy Moo! Year woops another England Capitain bites the dust ! Looks like the England Captains seat has a revolving door policy Time to bring G Heinz in as England Manager he will sort things out no worries with a wife who swings between supporting Stoke and Ipswich he has some proper expertise in conflict resolution
From arttidesco on Thu Jan 08 01:31AM
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From fsenge19860 on Thu Jan 08 02:41AM
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Like life...its all about balance. KP's ego was too big, where perhaps Moores was not big enough. You could sense an inner strength with Fletcher, but not with Moores, who had never experienced cricket at international level. I think Strauss is a great choice, with a similar personality to Vaughan, and a good record behind him, in the little time he did captain England. Lets have an ex England, experienced test cricketer as coach, someone who knows what its like to play at the top level, and understands the pressures, and plays hard! Lets have IAN BOTHAM!
From pompstarr on Thu Jan 08 07:42AM
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No, let's NOT have Ian Botham as coach. We've just had problems with one egomaniac and Botham is at least as bad as Pietersen. Being a great batsman or bowler does not make you a good coach. Being good at helping others to bat or bowl well does. How many great players can you think of, in any sport, who went on to become great coaches? You'll not need all the fingers of one hand to count them I think.
From bob.edge64 on Thu Jan 08 07:58AM
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MIKE GATTING OR GRAHAM GOOCH SHOULD BECOME THE COACH AND WILL MAKE ENGLAND THE BEST TEAM IN THE WORLD!!! WHAT DO U THINK???
From flashewing on Thu Jan 08 08:27AM
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Most of the world's greatest managers and entrepreneurs have huge egos - it comes with the job. If they didn't, they wouldn't be there. So a big ego is not the point - the point is, and always has been, that English cricket is run by an antiquated,supercilious elite, who will judge NOT by ability, skill and passion, but by which school you went to and whether your accent is adequate or not. Same happens with tennis - which is why we'll NEVER rule the world in either sport until this changes.
From clive.britcher on Thu Jan 08 11:39AM
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We seem to have gone downhill since that £10 Millions Winner Takes All 20-20 which I think England thought they would win by just turning up.We certainly took our eye off the ball in more than one sense of the word.Kevin Pietersen is a great player,but I have never thought that he has the leader qualities required to captain the side.
From tomporter12 on Fri Jan 09 08:59AM
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It was not correct of KP, whatever his points valid or not, to sit on safari in South Africa and issue ultimata to the England team. KP is a great player, no one doubts this, Moores has not been a fortunate coach but that is not the point. The point is about the captain's behaviour as captain, the skipper has to unite his ship for better or worse and KP has managed to do exactly the opposite. Seeing as both have thrown their toys out their cots then they should be at least man enough to stick to their words and go with some dignity. I just wonder how long it is before we will start reading tabloid biographies and hearing about court cases.... just not cricket.
From janner1975 on Fri Jan 09 09:07AM
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In answer to CSpatel3333 sorry but your wrong only one form of cricket actually matters.Thats test match cricket the others are just to get money and fans into the games.20/20 and one day cricket do not make good players.Over the long run good technique will shine through and most of the England players play too much short versions of the game.The best way to get good at the game for batsmen is lots of time in the middle and lots of overs for bowlers.
From chrishardy1 on Fri Jan 09 09:15AM
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G Hines is your man Ian Botham wot are you on !
Can I have some ?
From arttidesco on Sat Jan 10 01:18AM
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KP was always going to be too egotistical and headstrong to lead the side and Peter Moores has obviously not shown the same strength as, say, Duncan Fletcher when dealing with him. KP has gone too far, however, and should do the honourable thing. Strauss, I believe, will make a pretty good skipper although I do thing that Rob Key should have also been in the frame for the job having had quite a bit of captaincy experience behind him. I also agree with the comment about either Gooch or Gatting (or even both) taking the helm. When they were in charge of the 'A' team tour to Sri Lanka, (a few years ago, I know), they did a fantastic job coming away from the tour with England being undefeated. Their methods were somewhat different and they ruled the roost with an iron rod and instilled a discipline and team spirit within the team not seen for many years. It will take someone who is perhaps brave enough to emulate this and once again instill some pride into the England players, who these days seem to regard the sport as just another job. If you are good enough to play for your country then for goodness asake show some guts and pride. KP's sort of management does neither; it just shows him as a one man band. Given a little more time he could have perhaps channelled some of this in the right direction but unfortunately he opened his mouth without putting his brain into gear and this is not what we want to see. Vaughan, despite loss of form and personal pressures, was a heck of a captain and he will be a hard act to follow. The old school tie syndrome now has to be laid to rest and a proper decision making process put in place to ensure that this debacle never happens again.
From clive_uk_00 on Sat Jan 10 12:47PM
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Great cricketers do not necessarily make good captains eg Botham, Flintoff and now KP. The Captain Of the England Cricket Team must have a wide range of skills and qualities especially man-management, respect and authority, to be a team player and the ability to read the game and to take the necessary action. KP had none of these skills and is arrogant and impetuous - he must be left to develop his gifts as a batsman. Oh when will the cricket authorities ever learn!
From joncar177 on Sat Jan 10 01:50PM
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Comment no 1 sums it up. Kevin Pietersen may have been in the right but his own behavious was in the end the author of his ignominious downfall.
From janner1975 on Sun Jan 11 11:03AM
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My..My.. aren't we all a lot of "told you so's". Not that long ago, Pietersen was the greatest thing since sliced bread.. Now he's the pariah who single-handedly has caused the downfall of English cricket. What most of the anti-Pietersen brigade seem to forget is that what he was trying to do was in the best interests of the team. Any captain worth his salt wants the best team performing as well as they can. Under Moores, neither of these factors was the case. He was quite justifiably dissatisfied and wanted to do something about it. OK, so his methods can be questioned, but certainly not his motives.
From bobyoung on Sun Jan 11 01:11PM
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Now we have a new captain what about a new keeper.Best in my opion by far Scott of middlesex.Best for one-dayers Worcesters Davies,he also should open,and dont discount Foster.Time to say thank you and goodbye to Prior and the rest and what about giving a run to Shah,what as he done wrong
From bernardgoode on Mon Jan 12 04:24PM
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