Sacking Alastair Cook the right decision, says England coach Peter Moores

Tom Allnutt 08:22 07/01/2015
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  • Troubled alliance: England coach Peter Moores reiterates that Alastair Cook's sacking was the right decision.

    England coach Peter Moores insists the decision to remove Alastair Cook as one-day captain was “the right thing to do” andbelieves Eoin Morgan will inspire a more aggressive approach ahead of the World Cup.

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    England flew to Australia yesterday but without Cook, who was sacked three weeks ago and removed from the squad after a miserable run of form.

    “It was a tough one on Alastair. Alastair got every opportunity to get himself on the plane and he committed totally to that,” Moores said.E

    “It was a tough decision and it’s time for us to move on and for Alastair to refocus.

    “He’s got a huge role in the Test side this year and he has a clear focus over the next few months now to prepare himself and the team.”

    Moores had been steadfast in his backing for Cook as captain but just one half-century in 22 one-day internationals persuaded the England coach it was time for a change.

    “Plans are there to be changed at times, I’m comfortable with that,” Moores said. “We got to a position where it felt it was the right thing to do. It was a brave decision but it felt right to move and I’m comfortable with that. We have the right people
    on the plane and we have to go there now and perform.

    Moores continued: “I said it had to be reviewed at the end of the trip – we landed in England (after defeat to Sri Lanka in December) and you have that time to reflect.

    “We threw it all around and came to the conclusion that our best team was to give ourselves more aggressive options at the top of the order and get the 15 blokes we wanted on the plane and Alastair didn’t quite make it.”

    Moores refutes claims the intense scrutiny on Cook’s position had been a burden on the rest of the team but admitted other players’ successes were being overshadowed.

    There is hope that Morgan will bring a bolder strategy to the England side and Moores revealed the new skipper will have a big say in the line-up that starts the World Cup against Australia on February 14.

    “That change of mindset has already happened,” Moores said.

    “Eoin will drive that really hard and that’s a good thing – he plays his cricket like that, he wants to be aggressive and look for positive opportunities.”

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