England do find a way to pin any of their troubles on retired Aussie spinner Shane Warne, as Graham Gooch did on Tuesday.

The former skipper singled out the Aussie spin wizard for passing on his dislike for coaches to Kevin Pietersen during their time together at English county side Hampshire. Gooch feels Warne may have influenced Pietersen in some way in his dislike for coach Peter Moores, who now faces the axe.

“Unfortunately I think he has been influenced a little bit by Shane Warne at Hampshire,” Gooch told BBC Radio 5 Live. Warne was a great motivator as a player but, as one of the all-time icons of the game, he doesn’t really believe in coaching. He had his own run-ins with John Buchanan, the former Australia coach, and similarly may be Pietersen doesn’t like the style of Peter Moores’ coaching,” Gooch said.

Ford gets Kent OK

Meanwhile, Graham Ford, tipped to take over if truce efforts fall apart, will have no problem leaving his current employers county side Kent, which has promised not to come in the way if its director of cricket gets the high-profile job. “Graham has been linked to a number of jobs in the last year or so, such as India and New Zealand,” said Kent chief executive Paul Millman. “So far, he has been incredibly loyal but our position has always been that if Graham or any member of staff has a great career opportunity, we wouldn’t stand in their way.”