Peter Moores reflects on sacking as England coach
Friday 3 July 2015 16:00, UK
Peter Moores has spoken about his sacking as England coach after his dismissal by the ECB in May.
Moores was axed following the drawn Test series against West Indies and a group-stage exit from the World Cup, and has since been replaced by Trevor Bayliss.
The 52-year-old, who is now working as a cricket consultant for Nottinghamshire, did not want to comment on how the ECB dealt with his sacking, but said he was pleased to see England perform well in the one-day format against New Zealand.
England beat the Kiwis 4-2 in a thrilling ODI series before a comprehensive win in a single Twenty20 international between the sides.
Speaking to Sky Sports News HQ, Moores said: “I really enjoyed my time there (with England), but we had some tough times. We introduced a lot of new players and it was great to see some of those players play so well in the one-day format after what was a disappointing World Cup.
“It was a tough World Cup because everyone had the get-up-and-go to go out there and play expressive, aggressive cricket, but they didn’t quite get it out of themselves. But to watch them come in this summer and get a reaction was fantastic.”
An ECB statement following Moores' dismissal highlighted a need “to build the right approach and deliver success over the next five years within a new performance structure".
Moores was criticised for a perceived over-reliance on statistical management methods, which is something he was quick to refute.
He said: “I’ve been in the game for 33 years professionally, half as a player and half as a coach. Sport is a bit like music, it has a rhythm and an expression; it’s an art form in many ways.
“You can’t do that if you’re full of numbers, you have to go out and play so coaches try to do that. There’s obviously information that goes around that might tactically move things which players don’t really need to know.
“It’s frustrating to be labelled as someone who was trying to introduce it, but that’s history now and it’s a case of getting stuck into Nottingham.”
Bayliss will take charge of England for the first time during the Ashes series and he believes the Australian will bring a wealth of experience to the role.
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“Trevor is a very experienced coach, very level-headed who I think will be great,” Moores added. “He’ll bring all of that experience to England and it’s a fantastic summer of cricket coming up. I hope, like everyone else does, that England can play some really good cricket.
“It’s going to be a competitive series I’m sure. In Test match cricket with people like Alastair Cook at the top of the order - Ian Bell and Joe Root - they have some really good players in there.
“That side is going to be very competitive, especially in our own conditions.”
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