On team selection
There will be a selection meeting on Thursday. I’ll be joining in that selection meeting. Selection’s something that I think we need to look at. I’m not 100% sure we’ve got the right structure in place. There have been some issues over the last 18 months and even when I was in the England captain’s position around responsibility and accountability. In the meantime, I’m going to work very much with the present selection team. We’ve got a very simple common goal – to win as many games as possible this summer and to produce the right side to walk on that pitch.
On Alastair Cook
I’m supporting Cook this summer. He’s had a very, very tough period as England captain. We need stability in the England cricket team right at this moment. We’ve just made the very tough decision to move on from Peter Moores. Alastair Cook can provide that stability and that leadership for the rest of the team.
On Peter Moores’ sacking
It was a very difficult decision for us to make. Peter Moores has been very popular in the England dressing room. He’s got a very good record of developing players but I felt that in some areas of international cricket he is a little bit exposed, around tactics and strategy. I think we saw that in the World Cup and also he was undermined by the fact he had done the job before. We got to the situation where every game was a referendum whether the coach should stay or not. That’s not fair on him or on the players. I felt it was the right call to make and my job now is to find the right coach to take England cricket forward. I’ve got a lot of work to do in the coming days and weeks to make sure that happens.
On the new coach
Jason Gillespie is one of the candidates, absolutely. At the moment I have just been concerning myself with the process and how we go about it. Over the next few days we’ll start approaching candidates. I need to go and meet them, speak to them and see their philosophy on cricket, their philosophy on coaching and whether it’s aligned with what I think is in the best interests of England cricket. I think there will be one overarching coach for Tests and one-day cricket. I think you need one person in control and in charge of that environment. Also it’s important for people to know I am not going to be playing a tracksuited role. The execution of strategy is over to the captain and coach as it always has been. It’s the right way to go. My job is to plan for the future.
On Joe Root
It’s the right time for Joe Root to take more of a leadership position and I’ve asked him to be the new vice-captain of the team. He’s got outstanding leadership capabilities and we need him to start thinking more as a captain. It’s in no way a reflection on the job Ian Bell has done – he has been excellent in that role by all accounts – but it’s time for Joe to step up in that regard.
On Eoin Morgan
Eoin Morgan took over that role for the World Cup and I think it’s very harsh to judge him on what went on in that campaign. He’s an excellent candidate to lead England in one-day and Twenty20 cricket. He’s playing these Twenty20 competitions all around the world and is gaining knowledge from different sources and he can apply that to the England team.
