By Lawrence Booth

Published: 06:20 EST, 22 April 2014 | Updated: 06:20 EST, 22 April 2014

'Everyone deserves a 2nd chance!' tweeted Kevin Pietersen on Saturday morning, after news broke of Peter Mooress reappointment as England coach.

It was a decent enough gag Pietersen certainly thought so, embroidering his tweet with 14 smileys even if it said little about the more vexed matter of third, fourth and fifth chances. But, unwittingly perhaps, he had just summed up the gamble taken by the ECB.

English cricket's recent problems have gone beyond the Ashes whitewash and the Dutch debacle. More profoundly than that, the administration of the game has been fighting for its credibility, its fit-for-purposeness.

All smiles! Lancashire's Peter Moores was appointed the new England coach, succeeding Andy Flower

Any need? Kevin Pietersen tweeted that 'everybody deserves a second chance' on hearing the news

Perception isnt quite everything, but right now it feels like a lot and the perception on the mean streets of Talkboard Town and Below-the-Linesville is that the ECB is unable to adequately distinguish its backside from its elbow, let alone ascertain whether its right hand has ever met its left.

That Pietersen appears to be winning the PR battle in the wake of his sacking must take its place among the many low points of the last few months.

The ECB is viewed as a joke, with Pietersen its punchline. For the time being, provided with plenty of column inches by sympathetic journalists at the IPL, he can do little wrong. Heck, he has even given himself credit for spotting Jonathan Trotts stress-related illness.

Original post:

Kevin Pietersen's gag about Peter Moores sums up the gamble the ECB have taken