The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Chennai Test loss was the tipping point

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Chennai Test loss was the tipping point

London: The bad blood between England skipper Kevin Pietersen and head coach Peter Moores might have come to light now but the tipping point of the rift was the English team’s recent Chennai Test loss to India, according to a British newspaper.

“The flunked Madras Test just over a fortnight ago seems to have been Pietersen’s tipping point,” Sunday Telegraph has reported.

“Embarrassed tactically in failing to defend a target of 387, he felt help was not forthcoming enough. At some later stage in India it appears he let the relevant people know that he wanted Moores out,” it added.

The differences between the two men can be traced back to when Pietersen assumed the captaincy.

“For it seems the captain has long had enough. Michael Vaughan’s omission from the West Indies tour party, after Pietersen (who is not a selector) expressly asked for his inclusion, was a factor, but undoubtedly not the stimulus.

“Pietersen has never rated Moores. He had to seek assurances from the coach before accepting the captaincy last August and has combined uneasily with him ever since. It was always a marriage of convenience. The rumours have not been subtle,” the newspaper reported.

The paper also suggested that Graham Ford, who had turned down an offer to work with the Indian cricket team in 2007, might replace Moores as the new England coach, even though retired spinner Ashley Giles is also in the race for the job. — PTI

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