The worry for England is that things could get worse before they get better. The cricket itself is bad enough. But we're thinking of events off the field: if they were handed the keys to ECB headquarters, the Borgias and the Chuckle Brothers would probably bicker less and command more gravitas than the current lot. One of the side-effects of England's horrible performance at the World Cup was to bring forward the moment when our game would have to confront itself. While they were still in the tournament, there was always the promise of a horizon to cross, an itch to scratch, a wrong to right. No longer. The most alarming development of another improbable week was Alastair Cook's outburst in Abu Dhabi. It was no coincidence that the most heartfelt press conference of his career took place beyond the grasp of the ECB (perhaps beginning the county season in the Middle East does have something to recommend it after all). England vice captain Jos Buttler looks dejected as he leaves the field after their World Cup exit . England's exit at the World Cup was humiliating as they went out in Adelaide, Australia . England coach Peter Moores (left) at the end of the World Cup match between England and Bangladesh . But Cook was unhappy. More to the point, he hasn't got his head round his sacking as one-day captain. Neither fact reflects well on the English game. His cri de coeur came not long after coach Peter Moores had assured us that Cook had dealt with the disappointment of being axed only weeks before the World Cup. Thoughts returned to the days before that axing, when Moores stressed his support for Cook's leadership; once the leadership was over, Moores said it was 'the right thing to do'. Something is clearly being lost in translation. And it had better be reinterpreted fast: England are about to embark on 17 Tests in 10 months. It is a period that will define both captain and coach, assuming they emerge unscathed. Yet Cook also needs to be frank with himself. The reason he shouldn't have been sacked so soon before a World Cup was that he should have been sacked well in advance, and allowed to focus on what – until two years ago – he was good at: churning out Test runs. Instead, he has now been critical not just of the decision to sack him, but also – by implication – of Eoin Morgan's leadership. Alastair Cook was dismissed for three on day one of the champion county match in Abu Dhabi . Alastair Cook trudges off the field in Abu Dhabi after falling for five following just three in the first innings . For more musings on matters cricketing, please follow us on Twitter: @the_topspin . Team insiders believe his words came out the wrong way. But had they been uttered by Kevin Pietersen, they would have brought howls of 'insubordination'. And Pietersen, lapping up the limelight once more, has loved every minute. Ever since Colin Graves appeared to suggest there was a way back, he has taken every opportunity to stay in the headlines. This is his prerogative, and it has at least served to expose the ECB's continued mismanagement of the saga. To hear the national selector James Whitaker dead-bat questions from the BBC last week was to wonder at the task awaiting the ECB's new head of communications, Chris Haynes. Meanwhile, confusion continues over what exactly Graves said to Pietersen. Reports vary: he's offered an olive branch, no he hasn't; he's assured Cook that Pietersen won't play for England again, no he hasn't; he's told Pietersen there are no guarantees, no he… you get the picture. And all this, remember, before Graves has even replaced Giles Clarke as chairman. In some ways, Graves deserves our sympathy: he has inherited a mess which he presumably didn't envisage while he was operating under the radar as Clarke's deputy. And his statement on Pietersen – play county cricket or there really is no hope – had the virtue of treating him like a member of civilised society. Kevin Pietersen will have nine County Championship matches at the most to impress England's selectors . He's secured a released from Sunrisers Hyderabad to stake his claim for an England return in the Ashes . But the latest bout of confused messages, simmering feuds and egotistical grandstanding are a reminder that English cricket should be careful when it next mocks, say, the Pakistanis or the West Indians for presiding over complete chaos. It's over a year now since Pietersen was told to pack up his troubles in his old kit bag. Yet, in the eyes of the public, the ECB are no closer to moving on. On the contrary: the crowd watching the sideshow is threatening to outnumber those who can still be bothered with the cricket. Pietersen has played the media game with his customary flair, befriending those he once disdained. But it's up to the ECB to take charge. If they imagine they can win his silence while planning not to pick him – and that, by the way, is their plan – then Cook's meltdown may not be the last. There's nothing like the pricking of officialdom's bubble to soothe the soul. When the ICC posted what they thought was a congratulatory tweet to the Ireland team on a 'memorable and inspiring' World Cup, they enthused: 'See what Captain @purdy34 had to say HERE…' 'Captain @purdy34', aka Will Porterfield, saved Twitter users the bother of clicking on the ICC's link by responding directly with a tweet of his own: ‪'@ICC so memorable and inspiring that you have decided to cut the next WC to 10 teams. What is your vision for the game of cricket?' Funnily enough, the many replies did not include one from the ICC. William Porterfield saved Twitter users the bother of clicking on the ICC's link by responding directly . It's hardly unprecedented for politicians to thump a few tubs in an attempt to rally their constituents. So, as Bangladesh fumed over the No-Ball That Wasn't during their quarter-final defeat by India – fondly imagining that a semi-final place had been wrenched from their grasp – their head cricket honcho Mustafa Kamal cheerfully fumed: 'It seems the ICC has become the Indian Cricket Council.' The joke was lost on the ICC, which was hardly surprising: Kamal is their president. Worse, he reportedly threatened to resign if the ICC – his ICC – didn't investigate the umpiring. In the circumstances, ICC chief executive David Richardson might have been lost for words. Instead he managed a faintly splenetic: 'As an ICC president, he should have been more considerate in his criticism of ICC match officials, whose integrity cannot be questioned.' Needless to say, Kamal later dismissed reports of his threat to quit as 'rumours'. Pesky media… . Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Mustafa Kamal  (right) pictured during a press conference . SCRAP THE QUARTERS . It's not the ICC's fault that the World Cup quarter-finals were mainly one-sided, memorable only for individual feats – Rohit Sharma, Wahab Riaz, Martin Guptill. But, as I wrote in the 2012 Wisden, the tournament would benefit from losing the quarter-finals altogether. The quarters are a nice conceit: they ensure seven knockout matches rather than three, and create the illusion that there are eight teams who can actually lift the trophy. But their presence continues to make a turkey of the group stage, which stretches over a month and is grateful for whatever storylines are tossed its way. So here's the plan: allow 12 teams to take part in 2019 (not 10, as per the ICC's plan), stage two groups of six (all play all), and scrap the quarter-finals altogether. With only two teams progressing from each group, all the early matches would be meaningful, which would more than compensate for the loss of the quarters. And the Associates would get their chance without being accused of contributing to a meaningless first phase. The problem? Only 33 matches, compared with the 49 we have now. TV wouldn't like it, even if many fans would accept the shortfall in return for the prolonged tension. And even one game a day would still allow the tournament to last a month. ICC, over to you.
England were embarrassingly knocked out of the 2015 World Cup . Alastair Cook blasted England for sacking him as captain . Kevin Pietersen has been lapping up the limelight, loving every minute .