Steve Waugh: England right to dump Flower, Pietersen

Kevin Pietersen

Flower stepped down as England coach in January following the team's 5-0 Ashes series defeat in Australia, while a week later, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) left Pietersen out of the touring side to travel to the Caribbean, effectively ending his international career.

Waugh hailed the ECB's decisions on Tuesday, saying England had to start fresh after their humiliating tour of Australia.

"I think Andy Flower had been at the helm for a long while, maybe it was just a move that would have happened anyway," Waugh said.

"Pietersen - he's been the big casualty and obviously there's a reason for that. They don't just drop a player of that calibre for the sake of it. He must have not been fitting into the team culture or the organisation.

"He's always been a one-off and a maverick, I think that's OK when you're playing well and winning. But when you're losing, maybe it's not as accepted and obviously that's the case."

Waugh argued the most worrying part - from an English perspective - about Australia's whitewash of the Ashes was the gap between the hosts and England.

"It was a disastrous tour there's no doubt about it, 5-0, but they didn't really even compete, they were just totally outplayed in every Test by a big margin, which was concerning for England," he said.

"Probably the lack of fight was the main thing that I think the spectators and fans back in England would have been disappointed with.

"So there was obviously something wrong within the team and, when that's the case, you've got to have a real look at the whole situation, and the squad, and leadership, and the players.

"And they've done that, they probably needed to do it."

Having lost the previous Ashes series 3-0 in England in 2013, Waugh was thrilled with how Australia responded at home.

The 48-year-old former batsman believes Australia have turned a corner as they went on to win 2-1 in South Africa.

Waugh praised the emergence of Steve Smith in Australia's middle order as one of the main reasons for the improvement of Michael Clarke's side.

Smith has played in Australia's past 13 Tests and has four centuries in his last 15 innings.

"Steve Smith's been a big plus for Australia in the middle order," Waugh said.

"He's really matured, obviously taken a leaf out of Michael Clarke's book and likes playing against spinners very aggressively. He's got a good cricket brain."

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