Top brass turn the heat on Moores

Hugh Morris, the new managing director of England cricket, and ECB chairman Giles Clarke are flying into Wellington to join the inquest into the horror of Hamilton.

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They will demand answers to two simple questions: How could England be so bad in losing the first Test by 189 runs? And what is to be done to put it right when the second Test begins here on Wednesday night?

The scale of the crisis facing England — and this is a crisis — was emphasised on Monday when new selector James Whitaker delayed his trip home by two days to accompany the team on their journey south.

When Moores tried to play down the significance of Whitaker staying on, he was being either disingenuous or naive.

'He hasn't got any pressing business at home so it made sense for him to stay a bit longer,' said England's coach.

The truth is that England are deep in the mire and they must be seen to have a senior figure here at all times, post-Schofield Report.

Make no mistake, Vaughan was right when he said, pre-Hamilton, that questions would be asked if England were to lose this series.

They are being asked already with two Tests to play and Moores is sitting uncomfortably in the spotlight as he seeks to find a way out of this latest mess. He was calm but not entirely convincing when he faced the music on Monday.

Moores is a decent man who is trying not to betray his feelings, but the fact is that he will be the one feeling the heat most if England implode again.

'When I took this job I knew it had pressure to it,' said Moores, who has overseen Test series defeats by India and Sri Lanka in less than a year in charge. 'I've got a pretty clear vision of where we're taking this and that hasn't changed.

'What happened in Hamilton will not change how I work and talk with the players. You obviously want to win all the time but you also accept it can be quite tough and you must push on through that to get to the good stuff at the end.'

Fair enough, but something is badly wrong. What is eating away at the England team? Even Kevin Pietersen seems devoid of confidence. How on earth could that happen?

'I don't think there's a wider problem,' said Moores. 'As a coach you have to be concerned when things go wrong. We desperately need a win and we have to keep believing. We can bowl New Zealand out twice and we have the batters to score the runs needed.'

If England win the series from 1-0 down it will be their best turnaround away from home since going behind in Sri Lanka seven years ago and winning 2-1.

This should be easier to achieve; New Zealand seem more concerned with squabbling over who receives the most rupees in the Indian Premier League auction than the serious business of their first home series win over England in 24 years.

Moores said: 'In a situation like this everyone is challenged to look within to see what else they can bring to the team. When you are still in a series, there's a big carrot to go out and put things right. You must judge a man in adversity. That's when he shows his character.'

England must show character like never before so it seems inconceivable Steve Harmison will play on Wednesday. His brittleness personifies so much that is wrong with this team.