Moores 'comfortable' with Cook axeing

Peter Moores has insisted Alastair Cook was given "every opportunity" to prove himself ahead of the World Cup and defended England's decision to change the captaincy right before the tournament.

Moores had offered his support for Cook up to the end of the ODI tour of Sri Lanka but, upon returning to England, was part of the selection committee that sacked Cook and replaced him with Eoin Morgan.

"I'm comfortable with that," Moores said from Heathrow as England departed for Australia. "In any walk of life, plans are there to be changed at times. We've got to a position where it felt it was the right thing to do. It was a brave decision but it felt right to move and I'm comfortable with that. We have the right people on the plane and we have to go there now and perform.

"It was a tough one on Alastair. Alastair got every opportunity to get himself on the plane and he committed totally to that. We've got a very good set of players, Alastair understands that. It was a tough decision and it's time for us to move on and for Alastair to refocus. He's got a huge role in the Test side this year and he has a clear focus over the next few months to prepare himself and the team.

"I always said it had to be reviewed at the end of the trip. We came to the conclusion that our best team would give us more aggressive options at the top of the order. We got the 15 blokes we wanted on the plane and Alastair didn't quite make it."

While Moores admitted that Cook had been hugely disappointed by the decision, he was confident that it would not sour their relationship when working together in Test cricket and hoped that the extended break from the game would precipitate a return to form.

"No, I don't think so," he said. "I saw Alastair afterwards and we've always been really honest with each other, including in Sri Lanka where he had tough times.

"Alastair understands that. It was a tough decision and it's time for us to move on and for Alastair to refocus. He's got a huge role in the Test side this year and he has a clear focus over the next few months to prepare himself and the team. For any player to get a break is always a good thing so it'll be really beneficial for Alastair to get that break. But he will be very disappointed not to be going."