'Players have let Peter Moores down' - Moles

Andy Moles has expressed his sympathy for Peter Moores, suggesting England's players "let him down" during the World Cup campaign.

Moles, the Afghanistan coach, will be doing everything he can to inflict more pain on Moores and co when the two sides meet at the SCG on Friday. But as a man who knows the pain of a coach's life - he was sacked by Scotland and New Zealand - Moles was keen to show solidarity with a fellow coach.

"I hear the criticism of Peter," Moles said. "But as a coach, I feel sorry for him. We do what we can, but ultimately when they cross the line, the players have to do the job.

"The players have just underperformed. It just looked to me as if the players have let themselves down, and importantly, let the coach down. That's not to say that Peter's place won't come up under scrutiny. But I feel sorry for him. He's obviously worked hard, and I hear from the players that they feel that they've let him and other people down.

"It's a collective thing. The coach doesn't win, the players don't win. Everybody has to take collective ability. Really, they need to have a look at themselves and there obviously need to be some changes. But I think the big thing is not to rush into anything. They need to take stock."

Such is England's fragile state, though, that Moles knows his side have an opportunity to pull off a victory against a Full Member side and finish their campaign above them in the table.

"We believe that we've got a shot in us," Moles said. "We came here expecting to surprise somebody. We nearly got it right with Sri Lanka, and if we can be consistent and do the things well at the right times, I still believe that we have a shot in us. But we'll have to be at our very best and we'll need England to be below par. Everybody has an equal chance."

The suggestion that both teams have an "equal chance" might be the perfect illustration of how far England have fallen and how far Afghanistan have progressed.

But as far as Moles - referred to as "Mole" by fast bowler Hamid Hassan throughout the press conference - is concerned, Afghanistan are at the start of their cricketing journey. With the enthusiasm that exists for the sport in the country, he is confident progress will continue. The only thing they require is more fixtures.

"The one thing that we've got that some of the other Associate sides don't have, is a group of 20 or 25 players from under-19 level. And in that group there are probably eight to ten very, very exciting youngsters. Three of them are good seamers.

"There is huge passion and our facilities are adequate. We've got indoor cricket now. We've got an academy that could improve, but it's adequate. We don't need so much in the way of new machinery and things like that.

"What we need are fixtures. We want to win friends and impress people through this tournament.

"Afghanistan is not just a war-torn area. It's a promising group of cricketers. If we can persuade people to give us the opportunity to play against them in the UAE where we played our home games, then I think that will be the best way that our players can move forward and get better.

"They're a very passionate group of cricketers that have huge pride in their performance for the fans at home. That's something that drives them.

"The secret of the World Cup is in the name. We should be getting more teams to play, so hopefully the ICC will go back to their board meeting and re-examine their decision.

"We need the opportunity to play more. I speak on behalf of the nations just below us as well. What we desperately deserve is opportunity."