Kevin Pietersen claims England would not have been able to retain the Ashes if the previous regime were still in charge today.
Former skipper says previous regime would not have retained Ashes
Former captain Kevin Pietersen has admitted that England would not have been able to retain the Ashes if the previous regime was still in charge today.
The star batsman was replaced as skipper at the beginning of 2009 after a rift with then coach Peter Moores, who was also removed from his role.
Their departures left the way clear for Andrew Strauss to take over the captaincy and Andy Flower to become coach of the side.
The Strauss-Flower partnership is viewed as the key element in England's improvement over the past two years, which has seen the side regain the Ashes in 2009 before retaining them in Australia for the first time in 24 years.
"You know what ... I have never said this before ... I lost the captaincy, I got rid of the captaincy for the good of English cricket," Pietersen said.
"We would not be here today if I had not done what I did then. There is no way in this world that we would have continued under that regime and won the Ashes again in Australia after 24 years."
Right leaders
He added: "Strauss and Andy Flower need all the plaudits for an unbelievable 18 months and an unbelievable preparation for this team, and they are the right leadership for this team.
"They are just very good at keeping us level-headed and grounded and solid."
Pietersen has also enjoyed personal success in Australia, claiming man-of-the-match honours after a double century in Adelaide and also being a significant contributor to the decisive victory in Melbourne.
But the 30-year-old says that he and the rest of the team will not get carried away with their celebrations and are fully focused on clinching outright series victory in Sydney.
"Sure, we will celebrate this win - and then we will talk about Sydney and trying to win this series 3-1," Pietersen said.
"There was no huge parade after winning the Twenty20 World Cup in April."
