The expected appointment of Andrew Strauss as the new director of England Cricket and subsequent dismissal of Peter Moores as head coach were on Saturday "confirmed within minutes of each other" by the England & Wales Cricket Board, according to Ebrey & Munnery of the LONDON TIMES. Moores "has paid the price for an inauspicious second spell in charge of the team and it was widely anticipated that his sacking would be the first decision made by Strauss after the former England captain took on the new role." The ECB confirmed Moores had left his post after “private conversations” with Strauss and ECB CEO Tom Harrison. Moores said he had “not been given time” to turn around the team’s fortunes. Moores: "At the moment it’s difficult to put into words how I feel except to say how disappointed I am in the way my term as England coach has ended" (LONDON TIMES, 5/9). In London, Ali Martin wrote it was also announced that England’s assistant coach, Paul Farbrace, "will replace Moores in a caretaker capacity for the upcoming two-match Test series against New Zealand while Strauss seeks the long-term replacement." County champions Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie remains the favorite for the position and while "he would welcome talks, the former Australia fast bowler is yet to be contacted in any formal capacity by the ECB." ECB Chair-elect Colin Graves, who begins his five-year tenure on Friday, "has endorsed Gillespie’s credentials as an innovative and attacking coach behind the scenes." While a number of England players have privately "expressed their delight" that their old Test captain will take charge, there "was also shock and anger among some of the squad and backroom staff that the popular Moores will not continue as head coach and the manner in which his sacking took place" (GUARDIAN, 5/9). The BBC reported news claiming Moores was to be dismissed "emerged on Friday," while England was playing Ireland in a washed-out one-day int'l in Dublin. The appointment of Strauss "follows the sacking of Paul Downton as ECB managing director." Harrison said Strauss was "an exceptional England captain, is an authoritative voice on the modern game and has a wealth of experience building successful teams" (BBC, 5/9).
WORST KEPT SECRET: In London, Stephen Brenkley opined if the appointment of Strauss was the worst kept secret in the game, "the removal of Moores from the job, for the second time, was the second worst." There "is a distinct lack of English candidates for the coach’s role." Indeed, "there is a shortage of potential recruits from any country or planet." The reputation of opinion pollsters "was slightly higher" Friday night than that of the ECB, which will take some time to recover from their handling of this issue. It "makes the retrieval of the Ashes this summer harder rather than easier." Strauss, who sanctioned -- perhaps insisted on -- Moores’ demise before taking the new job himself, "may have trouble luring a decent candidate considering how poorly they treated the former incumbent" (INDEPENDENT, 5/9). The BBC reported former captain Alec Stewart said the ECB should "hang their heads in shame" over the treatment of Moores. Stewart said Strauss is an "excellent person" who "knows cricket inside out." Stewart: "The ECB should hang their head in shame, the way it's been dealt with. The fact that all these leaks came out the day before the man was officially told -- you've got to show a bit of respect to employees." Another former England captain who said he was approached about the director's job, Michael Vaughan, says the ECB needs to show some "quiet authority and integrity." He said, "The ECB brought this on themselves. They had the ideal opportunity to remove Peter at the end of the World Cup. We could have had a new coach bedding in with the team in the West Indies, but instead the ECB dithered and we have wasted another month with an Ashes series looming" (BBC, 5/9).
