Peter Moores has returned to England’s cricket set-up as their new head coach, resuming the role he left in 2009, after spending four years in charge at Lancashire.
Moores saw a great deal of success during his time with the Red Rose County, having guided them to a County Championship division one title in 2011 and later to a promotion to the top-flight in 2013, after they suffered relegation in 2012.
The 51-year-old, who also guided Sussex to a Division One title in 2003, pipped current limited-overs coach Andy Giles to the role vacated by Andy Flower at the end of January. Giles looked to be a resounding favourite for the role but a less than impressive series of results throughout 2014, which saw just five wins from eighteen ODIs and T20 games, led to calls for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to look elsewhere.
The ECB ultimately opted for the returning Moores, with managing directer Paul Downton saying in a statement on the ECB website: “Peter has a great reputation around the world as an outstanding coach and he will return to the role as England head coach with a great deal more experience and understanding of the challenges that the role presents. There is no doubt that he is the leading English coach of his generation and I believe that this is his time.
“His domestic credentials are beyond reproach having won the County Championship at Sussex and then repeating the feat at Lancashire, whose 2011 triumph was their first for 77 years. He was also the lead at the National Cricket Performance Centre at Loughborough between 2005 and his appointment as England coach in 2007.”
Moores’ first duties in charge will likely be to address the future of controversial batsman Kevin Pietersen, who tweeted prior to the announcement that “Everybody deserves a second chance” in relation to problems he had with then team management when he was captain in 2009.
Link Dafabet