Clash of egos weakens Kevin Pietersen and Peter Moores

KEVIN PIETERSEN’S insistence on meeting Peter Moores, the coach, before accepting the job of England captain last summer spoke volumes for their relationship, or lack of it.
So the smoke signals indicating a worsening rift between Pietersen and Moores should not be a surprise. A recent opponent of England indicated that he thought this was an inevitable consequence of two men with big egos, an observation that one takes as read with Pietersen but is less obvious with the affable Moores. He has been described as too “in your face” by one England player and someone who “likes to challenge us on a daily basis” by Pietersen.
In his autobiography, Duncan Fletcher, England’s Ashes-winning coach, wrote: “It is far easier to destroy a player than it is to make one. So I make a concerted effort not to go rushing in and suggest change for the sake of it. I needed to observe, not show off my knowledge.”
Moores’ biggest flaw, in the eyes of some key England players, seems to be that he is not Fletcher. Michael Vaughan and others have stayed loyal to Fletcher, keeping in touch and asking for tips and advice.
Understandably, Moores sought to make an early impression and this did not go down well with Vaughan or Pietersen. Contrary to many reports, Vaughan’s omission from England’s squad to tour the West Indies is not the source of Pietersen’s frustration. It is simply a symptom of a more deep-rooted problem that has been exacerbated by public airing.
The issue is serious enough for Hugh Morris, the England team managing director, to consider shelving a holiday this week to bang the relevant heads together. Morris was the man whose diplomatic skills and calm authority restarted England’s tour to India. This was just the sort of situation for which his job was created after the Schofield Report postmortem into England’s 5-0 Ashes thrashing in 2006-07.
Moores has little tangible to fall back on to justify his position. On paper his record in his first 20 months does not look that different from Fletcher’s over a similar period: Moores has won eight and lost six Tests; Fletcher won 10 and lost nine of his first 25 Tests.
But Fletcher had faced Australia (far and away the best in the world then) in eight of those Tests and had scored notable victories in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Moores has had no notable series victories: seven of his Test wins were against New Zealand and West Indies and one was over South Africa in a dead match.
England’s one-day form under Moores has been much the same as under Fletcher, with the same inconsistencies in selection and results. Even if one accepts that judging a cricket coach on results alone is unfair, there are no real signs of individual players benefiting substantially from Moores’ mentoring, as many did under Fletcher.
And there is little evidence of great strategic thinking emerging from Moores and his back-room staff, which may ultimately be what has riled Pietersen. He is an inexperienced captain and seems to feel exposed, hence his attachment to Vaughan. Of the assistant coaches, only the former Zimbabwe captain Andy Flower has played a serious amount of international cricket.
But then Fletcher, who captained Zimbabwe in one-day internationals, did not surround himself with big-name ex-players with a cabinet full of Test caps. And it is a flawed presumption that England’s problems are all down to the coach and not players who, in some cases, still seem unable to move on from the 2005 Ashes victory.
So where do England go? Sacking Moores, in effect bending to the will of Pietersen, would look appallingly craven and is hardly a recipe for long-term stability. And no credible individual would want the job knowing that this is how it could end.
Sacking Pietersen looks the least plausible option, although his resignation, to be replaced by the more conciliatory Andrew Strauss, has a common-sense feel to it. The most likely outcome is a Morris-inspired fragile peace, an agreement between all parties to muddle on through to this summer’s Ashes, the result of which will dictate the career paths of players and coaches alike. Ricky Ponting, who is losing matches and supporters in equal measure, might just raise a glass to the gormless Poms who have shot themselves in the foot yet again.