Peter Moores has broken a six-week silence over his sacking as England head coach, claiming his portrayal as being someone obsessed by statistics rankles greater than the manner by which he was dismissed.
Moores saw a second spell in the role terminated on 8 May – the first act in the tenure of the director of England cricket, Andrew Strauss – after a disappointing 13 months of results that culminated in the winter’s failed World Cup campaign in Australia and New Zealand and a 1-1 Test series draw with West Indies.
While the 52-year-old remained in charge for that final tour of the Caribbean, the World Cup proved too great a humiliation from which to recover and saw him lampooned in some quarters following an interview given to the BBC in the aftermath of a 15-run defeat to Bangladesh, in which the words “we will have to look at it later” were reported as “we will have to look at the data”.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, the former Lancashire coach, who claims to have since received a written apology from the corporation, said: “I have to accept my time as England coach has gone. It’s pretty hard to accept. But it’s done. The umpire’s finger is up. I have to look at where I go next. But I am frustrated. The portrayal of me as a coach in the media is just wrong. If people said, ‘I don’t rate you as a coach,’ then fine. But when it’s not what you are, it’s really frustrating.”
Moores, who did use the word ‘data’ in a interview given to Sky television after that loss to Bangladesh in Adelaide in response to a technical question, insists his England regime had in fact dispensed with a statistical approach to the game and was encouraging his players to think on their feet.
“We moved away from stats and data. Coaching doesn’t work like that at all. You watch a lot to say a little,” he said. “I’ve been in the game for 33 years and I’ve coached for 17. I know the game. And what I’ve learned is, my job is to simplify the game for players and free them up to go and play.”
Moores refused to criticise the nature of his sacking by the England and Wales Cricket Board that saw the news break on the websites of three national newspapers, including the Guardian, during the one-day international against Ireland in Malahide at the start of last month – before he had been told himself.
“I’ve been offered book deals, but it’s not who I am. And if I did one, I would want it to be things I’ve learned and stories to help people get the best out of themselves and others,” he said. “I have to be true to what I am. There’s not a lot of mileage in negativity, you know.
Asked if he would consider working for the ECB again, he replied: “A role at [the National Academy in] Loughborough would be exciting. I love coaching and that would be working with the best players and coaches. Yes, it appeals.”
