England coach Peter Moores is adamant a “brave decision” to axe Alastair Cook as one-day captain so close to the World Cup will boost his side’s chances of winning the tournament.
Cook was stripped of the 50-over captaincy last month and Moores faced a barrage of questions on the issue on Tuesday as his side departed London’s Heathrow airport for Australia.
Cook’s axing from the World Cup squad leaves his replacement Eoin Morgan with less than two months to adjust to the role before the start of the tournament in Australia and New Zealand but Moores said it was a tough but necessary decision.
“We’d got to a position where it felt like it was the right thing to do,” Moores said.
“It was a braver decision to change it. It felt like the right decision to move and we (the selectors) did that.
“I’m comfortable with that and I think we’ve got the right people on the plane. We’ve got to go out there now and we’ve got to perform.
“We’ve got to go there with a strong focus and we’re going there to try and win the World Cup.”
While Cook’s form in his one-day outings in Sri Lanka late last year was poor, Morgan has also been struggling of late.
The 28-year-old Irishman has averaged just 16.35 in 18 ODIs since the start of March but Moores insists he’s the right man for the job.
“He will know that form can vary. He will be desperately keen to make sure that he fires as captain,” Moores said.
“I think he’ll bring a lot to the team. He’s a very straightforward captain, I think, which will be a good thing for us.”
England arrive in Australia on Thursday and will face an ACT XI in a tour match from Sunday in preparation for the upcoming ODI tri-series against Australia and India.
Moores’ side played a limited overs and Ashes series in Australia last year and the coach believes frequent recent visits – and the fact the likes of Morgan have been playing in the domestic T20 Big Bash League – will hold England in good stead heading into the World Cup.
“There’s no shocks there playing in Australia because the lads have been there quite a bit and they know it,” Moores said.
“Lots of players have experienced really good times there and really tough times there in the last winter. We’re really looking forward to getting there again and getting stuck in.”
Moores said England had no special plans to combat Australian skipper Steve Smith, who will head into the limited overs on the back of a phenomenal batting performance in the Test series against India.
“Steve’s obviously on a great run of form and Australia are playing well. They’ve got some good players but we’ve got some good players too,” Moores said.
“You have your analysis (on players) but at the end of the day it’s a case often of very simple things.”
