County cricket is not to blame for England’s Ashes failure, according to former coach Peter Moores.

Moores, now Nottinghamshire head coach, told the Nottingham Post that criticisms of the county game miss the point.

He said there are many ways to help prepare English players for the challenge of Test cricket.

“We have Loughborough and the Lions. The key is to get those things right to help players.

“I think it’s an easy thing to look at county cricket negatively. It would have been the same with Australian domestic cricket had we won there.

“People will play to their strengths of home conditions. In India spin holds sway. In England you pitch it up and make it seam and swing. In Australia pace makes a difference.

“It doesn’t mean we can’t produce quick bowlers. You can still win around the world with medium quick bowlers. I look at guys like Chaminda Vaas who have had success.”

But he did acknowledge that, in this Ashes series, the difference in pace had been a factor.

“Pace is a great thing to have. We are short of a couple of guys who have raw pace and I do accept that’s made it harder on these Australian pitches.”

Moores took over as England coach for a second time in the wake of the team’s 2013/14 Ashes whitewash. In 2017 he led Nottinghamshire to both domestic limited-overs trophies and promotion in the County Championship.