Sussex coach Mark Robinson fears his hopes of leading England into the Ashes could be wrecked by the media.

Robinson was in the running to take over from Andy Flower last April only to miss out to his former Hove colleague and friend Peter Moores.

Moores was sacked on Saturday by new director of England cricket Andrew Strauss following a dismal World Cup campaign and a drawn Test series in the West Indies.

Paul Farbrace will lead England into their series against New Zealand this month with a permanent appointment expected before the Ashes in July.

Robinson admits he would love the job but, despite coming so close to landing it 14 months ago and leading two successful Lions tours, believes the clamour for somebody who has played international cricket could count against him.

Robinson said: “Obviously I would love the opportunity to do it but at the moment it seems that if you have not played international cricket then you’ve got no chance.

“Myself and others will think their CVs stack up pretty well but the media play a part in governing public opinion so it depends whether the ECB are influenced by the media.

“At moment all the talk is about a big international coach so the goalposts seem to have moved but, if the opportunity came up, I would be stupid not to try.”

Robinson also expressed disappointment at the treatment of Moores – who led Sussex to their first County Championship in 2003 – after his sacking was leaked to the media on Friday. He added: “To coach my country would be fantastic but the man in situ only lost his job on Saturday and I feel for Pete. He is an outstanding person and it is sad to see what he has gone through.”