• Pietersen not missed in T20 series in West Indies, Giles says
• Brilliance with bat not compensation for damage to England
Ashley Giles, England's limited-overs coach, remains adamant that the sacking of Kevin Pietersen was the right thing to do, despite the clamour that has accompanied England's batting failure in the Twenty20 series against West Indies.
West Indies beat England by six wickets at Kensington Oval on Tuesday to clinch the three-match series before Thursday's finale, an unprecedented fifth straight loss in this format for England. Fundamental to the defeats has been the consistent failure of the top order. Asked whether Pietersen was missed, Giles said: "No." But he admitted that it was a topic that would keep arising until fortunes change at the top of the England batting.
Pietersen had his central contract terminated by the new managing director of England cricket, Paul Downton, following the disastrous Ashes tour of Australia, during which time the batsman is said to have run up a lengthy catalogue of misdemeanours, running to four pages, which Downton is said to possess. In essence, they are saying, Pietersen's unquestioned brilliance with the bat is not adequate compensation for the damage he has done to the team.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Giles said: "There is no point in talking about someone who is not here, because that doesn't work. Kevin is not coming back as far as I am aware and what we need to concentrate on is improving those personnel that we have."
Giles, who is applying for the job of England head coach vacated by Andy Flower, knows that he may well be judged on England's performance during the forthcoming World T20, although he insists that protecting his own position plays no part in the decisions he makes. "I'm not going to do anything just because I'll gain favour from the ECB or anyone in the team, because I want the job. I have to do what is true to me, keep pushing forward, working on the skills we need to get right. It's always difficult managing a side when they go through highs and lows. We're all in the same boat, in it together, all a team – players, management. We all operate together."
But he is realistic about England's chances. "I think we would be right to be concerned," he said. "We've lost five in a row. Clearly we're not playing very good Twenty20 cricket and we haven't done for a period now.
"We'll go into that tournament as underdogs anyway. Every game we play, we go and play to win. But we're just not getting into matches. That's the biggest concern. Four of the last five occasions we've been three down at six overs. If you consistently do that, you're behind the eight ball.
"As good as the players we've got coming into our middle order, it's very difficult for them to salvage games from those positions. We are going to try and win the tournament, but realistically we are ranked eighth in the world. Sometimes being underdog is a good place to be, but at the moment it doesn't feel like it." Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 hours ago.
• Brilliance with bat not compensation for damage to England
Ashley Giles, England's limited-overs coach, remains adamant that the sacking of Kevin Pietersen was the right thing to do, despite the clamour that has accompanied England's batting failure in the Twenty20 series against West Indies.
West Indies beat England by six wickets at Kensington Oval on Tuesday to clinch the three-match series before Thursday's finale, an unprecedented fifth straight loss in this format for England. Fundamental to the defeats has been the consistent failure of the top order. Asked whether Pietersen was missed, Giles said: "No." But he admitted that it was a topic that would keep arising until fortunes change at the top of the England batting.
Pietersen had his central contract terminated by the new managing director of England cricket, Paul Downton, following the disastrous Ashes tour of Australia, during which time the batsman is said to have run up a lengthy catalogue of misdemeanours, running to four pages, which Downton is said to possess. In essence, they are saying, Pietersen's unquestioned brilliance with the bat is not adequate compensation for the damage he has done to the team.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Giles said: "There is no point in talking about someone who is not here, because that doesn't work. Kevin is not coming back as far as I am aware and what we need to concentrate on is improving those personnel that we have."
Giles, who is applying for the job of England head coach vacated by Andy Flower, knows that he may well be judged on England's performance during the forthcoming World T20, although he insists that protecting his own position plays no part in the decisions he makes. "I'm not going to do anything just because I'll gain favour from the ECB or anyone in the team, because I want the job. I have to do what is true to me, keep pushing forward, working on the skills we need to get right. It's always difficult managing a side when they go through highs and lows. We're all in the same boat, in it together, all a team – players, management. We all operate together."
But he is realistic about England's chances. "I think we would be right to be concerned," he said. "We've lost five in a row. Clearly we're not playing very good Twenty20 cricket and we haven't done for a period now.
"We'll go into that tournament as underdogs anyway. Every game we play, we go and play to win. But we're just not getting into matches. That's the biggest concern. Four of the last five occasions we've been three down at six overs. If you consistently do that, you're behind the eight ball.
"As good as the players we've got coming into our middle order, it's very difficult for them to salvage games from those positions. We are going to try and win the tournament, but realistically we are ranked eighth in the world. Sometimes being underdog is a good place to be, but at the moment it doesn't feel like it." Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 hours ago.