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When Kevin Pietersen was unveiled as the new England captain you said you had a horrible feeling it would all end in tears - why was that?
I felt Pietersen's appointment was a gamble for two reasons. Firstly, because he was the best player in the team and I was concerned about how it would affect his form as it has done with so many others in the past. As it turned out, his form has not suffered at all as he has continued to score runs. But I also wondered how he would get on with the England management as he had a history of clashing with hierarchy and he came into the job not seeing eye to eye with Peter Moores. Until this week he'd handled the job better than I expected. He made a good start in the final Test against South Africa and I thought he did well in India.
It has been reported that Moores has also resigned as well - was this inevitable?
Once Pietersen's opinion became public and there were noises that other players within the camp were not happy, it was hard to see how Moores could continue with any confidence of the team. "Inevitable" is a strong word to use but it was always going to be difficult for a man to take the job when he had no reputation of having played the game at Test level. The real difficulty he faced was when this dispute became public.
Who has come out worst from this: Pietersen, Moores or the ECB?
Nobody has come out of this well. Moores has kept his counsel and remained dignified throughout the entire episode, but the ECB's judgment in appointing him as quickly as they did [following Duncan Fletcher's departure in 2007] will be questioned. So will Pietersen's judgment in how he has dealt with his situation with Moores.
Who should be the new England captain?
Andrew Strauss is the obvious candidate. He could have got the job before Andrew Flintoff was named [as captain] and he was in the frame before Pietersen got it. There is no other stand-out candidate that I can see, but I feel the problem is with the one-day team. There should be a split captaincy between the Test side and the one-day side.
Who should be coach?
Andy Flower is a strong candidate and Graham Ford has been mentioned this morning. I question whether there should actually be a head coach. There is already a batting coach, a bowling coach, one for fielding and one for tactics so perhaps what is needed is an overall manager to coordinate the roles. I'd like to see the importance of the head coach downgraded. The ECB will probably look for a stand-in to go on the tour of the Caribbean and make their decision on the permanent successor to Moores after that.
How much does this affect England's chances in this year's Ashes series?
If this was going to happen, it is better that it did now rather than a week before the Ashes begins. The big question mark hangs over Pietersen. If your best player has just resigned over a lack of support from the ECB and the players in his team, then how well can he reintegrate into the side? If Pietersen comes back and scores runs as he has been doing then this shouldn't have too much of an effect on the series.
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