England are a shambles, says blunt Warne

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Australian Test legend Shane Warne says England are a "shambles" but a cold start to the northern summer and a green pitch could provide the tonic they need.

Warne did not mince words sticking the boot into England Cricket for the handling of Peter Moores's sacking and Kevin Pietersen's renewed banishment from the international team.

"It's a bit of a shambles what's going on with England at the moment, you'd have to say," Warne told skysports.com. "That's probably an understatement – a shambles.

"The way the Peter Moores sacking went, the KP issue; it'll be interesting to see how the players respond, whether they can come out and play well and shift their focus back on to playing.

"I'm sure they will but there's so many issues going on at the moment it'll be hard to see them coming out and playing well, especially against a very good New Zealand team.

"You ask any ex-player, English player, Australian player, everybody says the same thing. It's an absolute shambles and the quicker they get on with it the better for everyone but I think the whole handling of Peter Moores and KP has been pretty ordinary."

Lord's looks to have served up a green top for the start of the summer, and with temperatures set to peak at just 19C, the swing bowlers could hold the key, but would be under pressure to make the most of the conditions.

"It looks like a green wicket, the conditions are like winter, it's cold, the ball is probably going to swing around and that will suit Jimmy Anderson," said Warne.

"If Jimmy Anderson doesn't take wickets then England are in all sorts of trouble.

"New Zealand have got swing bowling, they've got batting, they've got power when they are batting too, they've got spin," Warne said.

"They are a very well drilled side; they are very well led by Brendan McCullum. He's probably, with Michael Clarke, one of the two best captains in international cricket.

"Alastair Cook will have to lift his game to match Brendan McCullum. There's going to be a lot of imagination from Brendan."

Cook, for his part, became frustrated at a string of Pietersen-themed questions at his pre-match press conference alongside caretaker coach Paul Farbrace.

"We have to really focus on what is important to us now – and for me, that is leading the players out at Lord's trying to win a Test series," the England skipper said.

Cook knows he cannot afford to be distracted at a time when his own future as captain is under a cloud and he warns it will not be easy against opponents who lost 2-0 on their last trip here but have improved significantly since.

"It was a great series for us, but obviously over the last two years, they have made huge strides under Brendon McCullum," he said.

"They are a very, very dangerous side. We are aware of that."