Moores retains his belief

Peter Moores begins the Test series against New Zealand next week as a coach under pressure. England have lost their last two series - against India and Sri Lanka - and have slipped to No. 5 in the world. But Moores tells Brian Viner, in The Independent, that he isn't thinking about what has gone and is focussed on the challenge ahead.

"There are other things to worry about going into this Test series, key areas we need to improve in." Which are? "Well, the batters need to go on and get big scores, and the bowlers need to find more consistency." Which sounds a bit like a jockey saying he needs to get a lot better at riding, or a footballer admitting that his kicking needs serious work. Moreover, the challenges facing the Test side must have been brought into sharper focus by defeat in the one-dayers, different XI or not. Has that increased the resolve in the camp?

"No, the resolve was there anyway. Obviously, we're disappointed we didn't do better, but if you include the Twenty20 games then we've played them seven times, won three, lost three, with one tie. That's not so bad. And actually, the one-dayers already seem like a long way away."