LONDON, (Reuters) – Kevin Pietersen is not on Peter Moores’ radar and the England coach says he is frustrated by the constant debate over the South African-born batsman’s chances of making a test return.
Sacked after the 5-0 Ashes whitewash in Australia last year, Pietersen rejoined county side Surrey last week to boost his comeback bid.
Incoming England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Colin Graves has hinted at a recall but Moores refused to be distracted by the issue before the squad flew out for the tour of West Indies.
“Kevin is not on this trip so I don’t need to focus on Kevin at all,” he told a news conference yesterday. “I understand Kevin’s a huge subject but I don’t think we can be drawn into that.
“My focus is to support Alastair (Cook). I always support the captain and work with those 16 players to try and make sure we put the best 11 out.
“The frustration for me is that people whose dreams are being made by going on this tour aren’t being mentioned,” added Moores who is in his second spell as coach and fell out with Pietersen during his first tenure.
“They are not getting any air time and it’s frustrating. We’ve got some very, very good players. That’s very exciting.”
Opening batsman Cook said Pietersen’s fate was in the hands of the ECB.
“Contrary to what a lot of you guys read in the media, I am a long way away from that decision-making,” said the England test skipper.
“It is not down to us. We’ve got 16 guys going to West Indies who are desperate to start turning around English cricket from what’s happened over the last three months.”
Under new one-day skipper Eoin Morgan, England were woeful in the recent 50-over World Cup in Australia and New Zealand and were knocked out in the first round.
