Cricket: Split-captaincy is Not Ideal, Says Coach

England's coach, Peter Moores, insisted yesterday that he had no hidden agenda to move England to a world of split Test and one-day captains when Michael Vaughan sprang a surprise on him in the wake of a disastrous World Cup and asked to relinquish the job in limited-overs cricket.

Moores's priority on replacing Duncan Fletcher in the spring was to bolster Vaughan's reputation as England captain and only then consider what the future held for a one-day side who had repeatedly underachieved.

But once Vaughan had made a triumphant return to Test captaincy, with a hundred on his comeback in the second Test against the West Indies at Headingley, he told Moores that he wished to stand down, leaving the coach to come to terms with an appealing yet high-risk solution to England's one-day ills.

"I think in an ideal world we all wanted one captain going through both Test and one-day cricket," Moores admitted, "but life isn't always ideal and you adapt and adjust to make sure it's right. It's a bit of a fresh start so it's a chance for us to take that and make the most of it."

Vaughan's own wish to stand down was crucial to England's decision. It lessened the fear that the Test and one-day captains would become rivals, undermining each other as team-mates responded differently to their leadership.

That fear will be diminished further if England, as expected, opt for Paul Collingwood as the one-day captain when they announce their decision tomorrow. Vaughan and Collingwood are not only regular golf partners, they share similar philosophies about the game and how best to approach it.

It will be down to Moores, as coach, to ensure that this bond remains powerful and that the one-day captain is not seen as somehow inferior to his Test counterpart. Elements of English cricket remain sniffy about the one-day game, so that will be far from straightforward.

"We know we've got the challenge of raising the standard of our one-day cricket because we haven't been that good at it over the last few years," Moores said.

"In Michael you've got a very experienced captain who's a very good communicator. The one thing that's slightly different in this case is that he's promoting the fact that he thinks it's the best way forward. He will be very supportive of the new captain and I think we can make it work."

Monty Panesar moved to joint sixth in the ICC's Test bowling rankings yesterday, making him England's highest-ranked spinner since Derek Underwood in 1977.