England Cricket

Rumours were swirling around English cricket about the appointment of Andrew Strauss as director of cricket and the removal of Peter Moores as England head coach on Friday.

The Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail and Guardian all reported that Strauss was set for the new role as a successor to Paul Downton, who was sacked as managing director of the England cricket team in April.

With Strauss’ official elevation to the role on Saturday, he was given the remit to decide on the hiring and firing of coaches as England look to rebuild for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.

Moores’ sacking shows that Strauss understands the circumstances he is inheriting and that he is determined to bring sweeping changes into the team.

Moores had been under immense pressure since England’s disastrous showing at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year, in which they bowed out at the group stage.

That pressure intensified following their recent 1-1 tie in the Test series with the West Indies, a team that England were expected to beat comfortably.

When he was a player, Strauss did not appear to rate Moores too highly as a coach, which could have played a role in this decision.

In his autobiography, Driving Ambition, Strauss said of Moores, per the Daily Telegraph:

What is required at the highest level is a coach who is able to calm players down, allowing them to play to their strengths. ... Moores’s philosophy that ‘energy cannot be saved, it can only be created’ ran contrary to that.

From those few sentences, it is clear that Moores is not held in high regard by the man who was ever so briefly his new boss.

The situation does not alter the uncertainty surrounding Test captain Alastair Cook and one-day international captain Eoin Morgan, but resolving those issues will surely be next on Strauss’ list.

However, changing the coach was the priority for the new director of cricket, with a number of possible successors already in the frame.

One favourite is Australian Jason Gillespie, who has had a great deal of success at Yorkshire, building a side that now supplies a number of players to England’s international teams.

Another name that has been bandied about is Gillespie’s former Baggy Green team-mate Justin Langer, a strong candidate—but one who would need to move from his home in Perth.

That these names are being discussed shows there is a real desire for change and to see the team get back to winning ways at the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Both Gillespie and Langer are relative outsiders, even though they are well known and respected in English cricket for their efforts as players and coaches.

While there may not be an inquiry into England’s recent Test series draw in the West Indies, change is certainly in the air.

The onus is on Strauss to make sure that the new coach can cope with the pressure of leading England, especially with New Zealand and Australia to come.

However, he has already shown a little of the ruthless side that made him such an effective captain for England. He may need to show even more to be successful in his new role.

Andrew Stauss has been appointed director of the England & Wales Cricket Board. The ECB's official site confirmed the news. ECB chief executive Tom Harrison led the search, which finally settled on former two-time Ashes-winning skipper Strauss.

Harrison referenced Strauss' decorated playing days and leadership qualities as reasons for the appointment: “Andrew’s breadth of ideas, his passion for England cricket and his proven leadership skills shone out. He was an exceptional England captain, is an authoritative voice on the modern game and has a wealth of experience building successful teams."

Some may be concerned that a generally conservative influence like Strauss is being tasked with rebuilding a struggling team. He has strong ties to the old guard many may feel needs to be changed, such as current captain Alastair Cook.

Former England bowler Bob Willis wrote in his London Evening Standard column that a Cook-Strauss partnership isn't radical enough: "England have to be more dynamic in their cricket and if Strauss is at the helm, together with captain Alastair Cook, I can’t see that happening."

Stauss will at least appoint a new coach after Peter Moores has stepped down from his post, according to the ECB's website:

The ECB confirms that Peter Moores has left his role as England Head Coach today.

[...]

Confirming the move, Tom Harrison said: “Peter is a man of great integrity and has offered a huge amount to England cricket.

“He is admired by the players, his colleagues at the ECB and right across the game and deserves both our deep thanks and the widest recognition for his commitment and contribution.

“The last year has been a period of transition and rebuilding in which Peter has nurtured new talent, developed new players and laid the foundations for the new coaching structure to build on."

His dismissal has seemed inevitable following a number of high-profile failings. The most notable involved England failing to progress from the group stage at the World Cup. Moores' team barely made a dent at the tournament, despite being drawn in a comfortable-looking group.

The dismal form under Moores' stewardship continued when England shared a Test series with a West Indies team widely considered beatable.

Strauss will have to get his first big call as director right and appoint a coach with some fresh ideas.

In the end, the rain won at Malahide, Dublin. At 56 for four after being put into bat, Ireland were wobbling against a new-look England. Then the heavens opened, and that was it for the day.

The result, or lack of one, in Dublin was a huge disappointment for both sides.

The hosts, given a rare opportunity to play a Full Member of the International Cricket Council on their own patch, would have been desperate to make a mark. 

A pitch offering help to the seam bowlers meant the Irish top order did not even get the chance to land a punch to bloody the nose of their neighbours.

England, meanwhile, would like to have seen their young XI given the opportunity to finish what they had started in the 18 overs of play that were possible.

With many of the regulars—or at least those who were on duty during a disastrous World Cup campaign that ended at the group stage—not selected due to the close proximity to the recent tour of the West Indies, it was a chance for some fresh faces to lay down a marker.

In the end, only two of the five debutants selected got to do anything of real note.

Mark Wood was handed one of the two new balls used in the one-day cricket these days. A damp Dublin was a far cry from the Caribbean, where the Durham paceman had been an unused member of England's squad for the three-Test trip.

While his five overs went for 25 runs, making him the most expensive of the four bowlers used by captain James Taylor, there were some signs of real promise. Journalist Chris Stocks was certainly impressed, judging by his tweet:

With the weather intervening, Wood did not have time to get bored, meaning his imaginary horse was not needed to keep him entertained:

Still, in his 30 legal deliveries (the 25-year-old had to do a little extra work, having also sent down three wides and a no ball in his spell), there was good pace and some lateral movement.

David Willey, the other new boy to get a go with the ball, does not have the speed of Wood through the air. He does, however, bring a variation to the attack as a left-armer—these days, they are highly coveted.

England experimented before the World Cup with Harry Gurney, another left-arm seamer who had impressed on the county circuit. But, when push came to shove, the selectors opted to leave the Nottinghamshire bowler out of their final 15-man squad for the tournament.

Willey may have earned international honours earlier in his career had a back injury not seriously hampered his progress.

The issue forced him to pull out of an England Performance Programme tour to Australia in the winter of 2013 and continued to hamper his progress for his county, Northamptonshire, last year.

Yet his all-round abilities (he averages over 20 with the bat in all forms of cricket at domestic level) make him an ideal 50-over player.

England should show some patience and try to mould him into their own version of James Faulkner—a left-armer lacking in pace but able to out-smart batsmen, as well as a useful hitter down the batting order. 

The 25-year-old believes his bowling can make an impact at the highest level, telling Ali Martin of The Guardian: "I think everyone saw how successful left-armers were in the World Cup, and I know I can swing a white ball."

Willey—who followed in the footsteps of his father, Peter, in earning an England cap—did move the white ball in his four overs against Ireland, during which time he snared the wicket of Andy Balbirnie. Jason Roy, another debutant on display, held on to an excellent catch at second slip to leave Ireland four down.

The bad weather denied the visitors from pressing home such a promising position, though Wood and Willey did at least make the most of their limited time on the field.

England's selectors will now have to consider if the majority of the squad sent to Ireland should remain for the five-match ODI series against New Zealand, which takes place in June.

Some will understandably have to make way for returning regulars but very few players can be certain of their places right now.

Jos Buttler and Joe Root are definite starters but not many more can feel certain of being picked. That includes Eoin Morgan, who captained them in the World Cup, and the fast-bowling duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

England must now look to the future, not continue to be held back by the past.

It has been an eventful first month back in county cricket for Kevin Pietersen, even if the biggest story involving him to date has been his issues negotiating London's public transport system.

Pietersen announced his intention to play first-class cricket again in the hope of winning an England recall.

Such was his desire to attract the attention of the national selectors, he agreed a release from his contract with Indian Premier League franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad, meaning he was available for the start of the domestic summer.

Colin Graves, the incoming chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, offered further hope in a meeting with the player.

After hitting 170 in a warm-up fixture against Oxford University MCCU, Pietersen said, per Jon Culley of The Independent: "He (Graves) has told me he wants the best players playing for England and that there is a clean slate."

So far, however, the big scores in LV= County Championship Division Two have not been forthcoming.

The 34-year-old has played in two matches for Surrey to date. He has scored 112 runs in four innings, though only on two occasions has he been dismissed.

There was an unbeaten half-century in the second innings of an opening draw against Glamorgan in Cardiff, but his first trip to the crease had seen him dismissed by Craig Meschede for 19.

The bowler admitted to Ali Martin of the Guardian that Pietersen still wasn't his biggest scalp: "My maiden first-class wicket was Sachin Tendulkar. It’s nice to add KP to my number. He probably ranks second."

Pietersen did achieve a milestone during his first innings against Essex in the next first-class match.

In the process of making 32, he became the fastest batsman to bring up 1,000 first-class runs for Surrey, reaching the landmark in his 17th innings.

His hopes of going on to mark the occasion with a big score were dashed, however, when he was trapped lbw by the medium pace of Jesse Ryder, Essex's overseas player.

So, instead of Pietersen piling on the runs himself, he has instead spent a lot of time watching Surrey team-mates Steve Davies and Kumar Sangakkara filling their boots.

Considering Gary Ballance, Ian Bell and Joe Root—the players currently occupying the spots in England's middle order that Pietersen covets—all hit centuries in the recent Test series in the West Indies, things have not quite gone according to plan for KP.

However, that does not mean the first few weeks of the campaign have been uneventful.

The match against Essex did not go as he would have liked on or off the pitch, as the South African-born right-hander found himself lost at Wraysbury train station while trying to get home.

Pietersen tweeted on several occasions to explain what was happening during his journey:

In the end, as BBC Sport reported, Pietersen had to call his wife to come out and pick him up.

Still, undeterred by his trip into the unknown, he was back on the train again the following day. Second time around, however, he enlisted the help of Surrey colleague Tom Curran to guide him:

Oops - round number 2...I have a companion in @tommycurran159 who's going to keep us away from Wraysbury hopefully! pic.twitter.com/QmG3UXsCCF

— Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) April 28, 2015

Rain on the final day of the fixture denied the former Hampshire and Nottinghamshire player the chance to spend any more time in the middle, though the early finish did come in handy, according to his tweet:

Pietersen will be hoping he doesn't end up playing down the wrong line when he returns to first-class action; Surrey are hosting Leicestershire from May 10.

His quest for an England return may not be on track just yet, but the timetable of fixtures will give him ample opportunities to impress in the near future.

England came to the West Indies for a three-match Test series looking for answers. Instead, they have left with a 1-1 draw and yet more difficult questions.

The hope was that the three matches would be the perfect way for a struggling side to refind some form. The players and management had the opportunity to put a dreadful World Cup behind them and begin the summer with a confidence boost.

Prior to the series, the incoming ECB chairman Colin Graves was unequivocal about his expectations. He described the West Indies as “mediocre” and said there would be “some enquiries” if England were not to win the series, per BBC Radio Leeds.

Well, England have not won the series. Encouraging performances have been balanced out by questionable player selection, batting collapses and a spin bowling weakness.

Centuries for Ian Bell, Joe Root, Gary Ballance and Alastair Cook and isolated bursts of old from James Anderson and Stuart Broad offered hope. But Jonathan Trott’s prolonged difficulties, England’s 123 all out in Bridgetown and Moeen Ali’s erratic bowling with Adil Rashid sitting in the stands have left a draw feeling like a loss.

Over the past few years, we have become used to attributing blame in the wake of continual disappointment. So, where will these enquires begin?

Coach Peter Moores is undoubtedly under increasing pressure. He has only been in charge for a year, but there have already been considerably more downs than ups in his tenure.

Conservatism is a trait often pinned to the former Lancashire coach. In this series, his reluctance to replace Trott with Adam Lyth and give Rashid a chance are particular blots in his copybook.  

However, the real failure—the one that lost the final Test match and ensured a series draw—falls at the feet of the batting lineup. Only three players made it into double figures in the second innings in Barbados, leaving a meagre target for the bowlers to defend.

Overall, four of the top five batsmen made centuries in the series, but still there is a sense of missed opportunity and uncertainty surrounding the batting. The components seem to be in place, but the same obstacles are continually being tripped over.

The tried and tested mix of youth and experience seems sensible, yet England are still a long way from attaining a steadfast, settled group. Consistency seems a long way off.

Bell scored a magnificent 143 in Antigua, but followed up one of his greatest-ever innings with just 12 more runs in five innings—including no runs from 20 balls in Barbados.

It was a similar story with the senior bowlers. Both Anderson and Broad produced excellent stand-alone spells of bowling, but without the assurance of high-quality support it was never sustained. Chris Jordan and Ben Stokes appear promising bowlers, but they managed just nine wickets between them across the whole series.

Spin bowling has been a problem for England since Graeme Swann retired in 2013. Moeen, alongside Root, has been entrusted with taking up the mantle. But on a fourth-innings pitch, neither have the consistency nor skill required to take the wickets required, and previously expected, to win games. Rashid could yet provide a solution, but much like the entire situation his team find themselves in, he is far from a quick fix.  

England flew to the Caribbean looking for answers. Although they have not found them, the posing of further questions is more welcome now than it would be in a few months’ time.

A new setup is emerging. Graves is set to start work as chairman in two weeks’ time and Andrew Strauss is expected to become the new director of English cricket, per BBC Sport.

They will have their work cut out if England are going to find the answers required to prosper against New Zealand and regain the all-important Ashes.

The only certainty after two days of the third Test between West Indies and England is that there will be a positive result.

Not even the weather can seemingly deny one of the sides from being victorious (and the forecast for the coming days in Barbados looks good, according to Accuweather.com).

England battled hard on the opening day at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, creeping their way up to 240 for seven by the close.

Alastair Cook’s first-innings century rather summed up cricket in the Caribbean these days—on a pitch that lacked pace, he patiently picked up runs on the way to his first ton in the Test arena since May 2013.

However, Saturday’s action saw the match move from first gear straight to fifth.

It all started with the tourists losing their last three wickets for the addition of only 17 runs. But, despite being quickly bowled out for 257, they still managed to claim a first-innings lead.

James Anderson—now his country’s top wicket-taker— claimed figures of six for 49, as West Indies were knocked over for 189 in just 49.4 overs.

With a 68-run lead, England’s one aim was to bat their opponents out of the contest.

Yet, rather than shutting the door on the West Indies’ chances of levelling matters at 1-1, they instead left open the prospect that a series they have for the most part largely dominated finishes up all square.

An evening batting collapse saw England lurch to stumps on 39 for five, meaning a useful—but far from decisive—advantage of 107 runs.

Gary Ballance was their one front-line batsman to stand firm, though his 12 runs came off 54 deliveries. England rather crawled along at the start of their second innings, the plodding nature keeping with their efforts during a tour that has been steady, rather than spectacular.

After 18 wickets fell during Day 2, it is tough to know which of the two sides will end up coming out on top.

West Indies’ efforts with the ball in the final session offers them cause for optimism, yet their batting display earlier suggests there is little margin for error at the start of the third day's play.

England, meanwhile, will be desperate to make sure they do not return home, having failed to hold onto a 1-0 lead.

Yet, no matter what the outcome in the end, they should travel back to begin a hectic summer schedule wondering if they quite made the most of the trip.

Although captain Cook finally managed to get that elusive three-figure score with his knock of 105, the identity of his opening partner is again going to be a hot topic of debate.

Jonathan Trott completed a miserable series by making nine runs in England’s second innings. Pushed up from his usual position of No. 3, he has contributed only 72 runs at an average of 12.

Speaking on BBC Radio's Test Match Special show, former England opener Geoffrey Boycott said of Trott:

He is a tough cookie and he has had a terrific Test record. But it's a different ball game psychologically up front.

It's not like being down the order and you have plenty of runs on the board and the bowlers are tired. Every time you go in it's the new ball and you have got fresh bowlers. It is nerve-wracking.

He can't play like that against quick bowling. I would be frightened watching him when Australia come (for the Ashes series this summer) with Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson.

It is hard to argue with Boycott, a man who scored 8,114 Test runs batting in the same position as Trott currently occupies for England.

Yorkshire's Adam Lyth has been part of the squad in the West Indies, but he has not featured.

Sam Robson, the previous incumbent as Cook's batting partner who was dropped after a mixed summer, reminded the selectors of his abilities by making 178 for his county, Middlesex, against Sussex at Lord’s on Saturday, as noted by Wisden's Lawrence Booth:

Trott has had his chances against West Indies. Now, though, England cannot contemplate continuing with him beyond the tour.

The identity of their next opening batsman is not the only issue for the management team during the tour debrief.

The bowling attack still looks overly reliant on the new-ball pairing of Anderson and Stuart Broad. They have so far picked up 25 wickets between them in five innings against West Indies.

Chris Jordan has five to his name, while Ben Stokes—an all-rounder of immense talent—continues to flatter to deceive. He has picked up just two wickets, coming at a cost of 115.50 apiece.

Like batsman Lyth, Durham paceman Mark Wood has not been afforded the chance to make his Test debut, while Liam Plunkett’s wait to earn a recall goes on. 

With Chris Woakes currently out injured, England must decide who provides the perfect foil behind the talismanic Anderson and the belligerent Broad.

With uncapped leg-spinning all-rounder Adil Rashid also not seeing any action while away, England have rejected the opportunity to take a look at some fresh faces before series with New Zealand and Australia.

But, before they need to worry about what is to come at home, they must first make sure they leave the Caribbean with more than just a nice tan.

Anything but a series win would feel like a disappointment.

How players respond when their backs are against the wall and the odds are all stacked against them is what sets apart the good players from the very good. Alastair Cook has waited two years to score a hundred in Test cricket, but he finally managed to get it against the West Indies in Barbados.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat, England started somewhat dubiously. Jonathan Trott continued to struggle and was dismissed for a three-ball duck, and Gary Ballance followed soon afterward. Ian Bell went without scoring, and Joe Root stuck around for just under an hour before he too was dismissed.

It wasn’t until Moeen Ali joined Cook out in the middle that England managed to knuckle down. The pitch probably spun a bit more than England expected, but they weren’t expected to fall apart quite so spectacularly. Thanks to their captain, though, England have the foundations of putting together a solid total.

It was a belligerent effort from the skipper that has been three Tests in the making. As the series progressed, Cook has gotten better and better. After a disappointing outing in the first Tests, Cook responded with back-to-back fifties in the second Test and capped things off with a ton in the third and final Test. 

It takes a special effort from a special player to score such a painstaking hundred. While it was agonising to watch, it takes some serious concentration to not waft at the bad balls, to leave the wide ones, to not get frustrated when you’re not playing scoring shots and to keep calm when your teammates having seemingly lost the plot.

Cook needlessly got out in the final over of the day. Playing the same cut shot that had brought him plenty of success throughout the day, he edged the ball through to the keeper and was sent on his way. That means England have a tough road ahead in this Test, as he finished Day 1 on 240 for seven.

Despite not having scored a century in Tests for two years prior to this effort, though, Cook is still breaking records.

He is also steadily closing in on Graham Gooch’s record of top Test run scorer for England, having already scored more hundreds and more fifties than his mentor. He has comfortably passed Kevin Pietersen as the man with the most hundreds for England, and Cook almost certainly has a few more years left in the tank.

After the 5-0 Ashes drubbing in 2013, Cook was under some serious pressure, both as captain and as a player. His form only blipped for a short while before he rekindled it, though. His captaincy is never going to set the world alight, but Cook is exactly what England needs at the helm of their Test team. He doesn’t like to draw attention to himself; he focuses on the task at hand, and he gets it done in his typically plucky way.

England have a tough summer ahead with Tests against New Zealand and Australia at home before travelling to the United Arab Emirates to play Pakistan and South Africa later in the year. Cook will almost certainly face a few bumps along the way, but as he has shown over the course of the last few months, he almost always bounces back. It’s not always pretty, but it’s incredibly effective.

What is the point of taking an uncapped batsman on tour? Often, it’s to hand them a debut. Sometimes, it’s to help a rookie learn about new conditions and soak up the knowledge of those players around him.

Taking a player, especially an uncapped player, on tour and not playing him, does sometimes come with a caveat, though. In the case of Adam Lyth, that caveat has been an enormous waste of his time at the expense of his county Yorkshire.

Lyth was named player of the year at the PCA awards last year, finishing the season with 1,489 runs at an average of 67.68 in 16 matches. He was integral to Yorkshire winning the championship, and his effort with the bat was enough to earn him a call-up to the England squad that is currently on tour to the West Indies.

As the tour has worn on, though, it has become increasingly clear that England have had no intention of handing Lyth his debut.

Instead, an experiment that saw Jonathan Trott take over the opening role has taken root. Trott is not a traditional Test opener, but England seem keen to turn him into one. As noted by Sky Sports, "Trott, normally a No. 3, has struggled, scoring 69 runs in his four innings at an average of 15.75."

While there is nothing wrong with easing Trott back into the team, the fact that England have not allowed Lyth to return to play for his county is irksome.

Yorkshire won their first fixture with ease, but they found it far tougher in the two fixtures that followed, drawing both games. Lyth won’t miss another County Championship fixture, but the fact that the England management staff could not see that it’s far better for a player like Lyth to actually be playing cricket than sitting around in the dressing room is dumbfounding.

Of course, England need back-up players in case there is an injury during play, and they need a substitute fielder, but surely getting an academy player out to the Windies is a better option than robbing a county of one of their star batsmen?

England will take to the field in the third and final Test against the West Indies on Friday, and while it is unlikely for Lyth to make his debut, many have called for him to be given a chance. Former England player Ian Botham was quoted by Sky Sports as saying:

England have an opportunity here to play one of the young guys in this final Test. I don't think we need to see anything more from Jonathan Trott in the openers’ position.

He looks very fidgety at the crease, he doesn't look relaxed. Two noughts, a four and a 50 hardly warrants us all jumping up and down and saying 'of course he should be playing'.

I'm surprised they picked him in the first place. Adam Lyth must be wondering what he has to do to play and also Trott didn't open for England before, so why's he opening now? I don't quite understand their thinking.

By not giving Lyth a chance, England have not only shot themselves in the foot, they have made life difficult for one of the teams they are supposed to look after. It has been a foolish exercise and a complete waste of Lyth and Yorkshire’s time.

If England were hoping for a “new era” of player management, they have failed their first test.