Moores demands England make it 3-1 at Oval
ENGLAND cricket coach Peter Moores has urged his players not to get carried away by successive victories over India and to finish the series with a flourish in this week’s final Test at the Oval.
Saturday’s win by an innings and 54 runs inside three days at Old Trafford put England 3-1 ahead and capped a swift turnaround in fortunes for the hosts, who lost at Lord’s in the second of five contests.
Moores believes a new-look team is now belatedly finding its feet, following a turbulent few months for him and captain Alastair Cook, but wants them to build on their progress when hostilities are resumed on Friday.
“Certain things have fallen into place,” said former Lancashire coach Moores. “We had seen a lot of the younger players do well and the senior players hadn’t really fired, but the fact that the senior players have really performed well over the last couple of games has really added something to us.
“The end of the Lord’s game was a real low point. We were all very disappointed, but that allows you to regroup. We have won two Tests but we have got to be pretty careful we don’t get carried away. We have got a huge game coming up at The Oval. It is nice to see something coming into place for a team that is going to build for the future.”
England have named an unchanged 13-man squad for the fifth Test, with paceman Stuart Broad expected to play despite suffering a broken nose when hit by a Varun Aaron bouncer on Saturday.
Cook has admitted questioning his position when England’s winless run reached 10 Tests, but Moores believes that enduring and then ending that fallow spell has ultimately made his skipper stronger.
“He is very determined. The more people have had a go at him, the more he has said he is totally in for it,” Moores added. “He is developing quickly as a captain tactically and has great values to lead with from example. He would openly admit that at times he has had a really tough ride but often that can forge somebody into something special. Hopefully for Alastair that is starting to come out a bit.”
SERIES SO FAR
First Test, Trent Bridge: draw
Second Test, Lord’s: India beat England by 95 runs
Third Test, Ageas Bowl: England beat India by 266 runs
Fourth Test, Old Trafford: England beat India by an innings and 54 runs
Fifth Test, the Oval: play starts on Friday 15 August