England told to win against West Indies

Nick HouThe England team were addressed by the new senior management of the England and Wales Cricket Board before they left for the tour to the Caribbean, but Alastair Cook and Peter Moores did not need to be told what is expected over the next few weeks.

Colin Graves, the incoming chairman of the ECB, and the board's new chief executive, Tom Harrison, told the players that they had their full support, but the squad know victory is expected against a lowly West Indies team.

The spectre of Kevin Pietersen was never far away as Moores and Cook tried to look ahead to a crucial three-Test series that will go a long way to shaping their futures.

A convincing win would end the Pietersen debate and help their immediate boss, Paul Downton, the managing director, keep his job. His future will be decided by Harrison as he conducts a review of the England set-up. Downton has pleaded for patience in recent weeks and pointed to the progress of the Test team, who won three consecutive matches against India last summer as one reason for resisting change. Now the players and Cook have to back him up."

This is about focusing on an England team," Moores said when asked about Pietersen again. "We have not mentioned the fact we have new players here and the frustration for me is there are people whose dreams are being made by going on this trip but are not being mentioned. People who have worked so hard for years to get their chance - Adam Lyth, Mark Wood - are not getting any airtime at all..

"We have some very good players, like Gary Ballance, who was International Cricket Council young player of the year. That was exciting news. I understand Kevin is a huge subject but Cooky and me cannot be drawn into that.

We have got to focus on what is ahead."Pietersen returns to action next week for Surrey and both Moores and Cook batted away attempts to draw a definitive answer about whether he had any chance of playing for England again."Contrary to what you may read in the media I'm a long way away from that decision [on Pietersen]. It's not down to us," Cook said.

"We've got 16 guys going to West Indies who are desperate to start turning round English cricket from what's happened over the last three months. We need to get back to winning ways and it's about a brand of cricket and trying to win this series. The ECB will have to deal with everything else."

New faces always lift a team and the sheer excitement of Lyth, Mark Wood and Adil Rashid going on their first England tour should help change the mood. Ben Stokes is also back and there was good news concerning Moeen Ali, who is recovering from a side strain and expects to fly out in time for the second Test in Grenada."

We have to focus on the exciting thing, which is the guys who are lucky enough to pull on that shirt and represent our country," Cook said. "I was with Adam Lyth when he got his phone call from James Whitaker in Dubai. It was such a refreshing thing to see.

A gritty Yorkshireman was in tears talking to his mum telling her he had been picked by England."That is what playing cricket for England means.

To get that opportunity to stand in the airport in his first England suit is something he will remember forever. We have to concentrate on that now."

Graves' comment last week that the West Indies were a "mediocre" team offended some in the Caribbean but if that leads to a backlash from the West Indies the new chairman will simply expect England to take it in their stride."

No, it doesn't work like that," Moores said when asked if Graves had given him any guarantees over his future.

"We all know we're in a results business. For me and Alastair it's pretty clear. We've got some new players coming in and we've got Jonathan Trott coming back. We've got to make sure that the side moulds quickly. We've got a couple of practice games and we go straight into the Test series and we don't need to go any further than that."

Cook denied there had been a rift with Moores after his sacking as one-day captain and he looked relaxed following an unexpected break, which may come as a blessing as the team embark on a program of 17 Tests in 10 months.

His own runs will be crucial."What I have got to do is score runs and set up England wins. They were not hundreds but you saw 90s, 80s and 70s in those last three Tests [against India] and runs at the top of the order always make England a harder side to beat.

You are paid to score runs and I would love to lift up that bat again."Telegraph, London