Peter Moores has been given a second chance as England head coach, after the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced his appointment on Saturday.
The 51-year-old, the first man to twice be appointed England coach, replaced Andy Flower after he stood down following the team’s 5-0 Ashes thrashing in Australia.
In a two-year spell from 2007 to 2009, Moores led England in seven Test series, starting with a 3-0 win over West Indies, after replacing Duncan Fletcher.
However, he was forced out in 2009 following a rift with Kevin Pietersen that cost the star batsman the England captaincy, although the ECB ended Pietersen’s international career after the recent Ashes debacle.
Moores’ recall means there is no longer a position in the hierarchy for limited overs coach Ashley Giles after England decided they wanted one man in charge across all three formats.
Moores joined Lancashire in February 2009, having previously guided Sussex to the County Championship title in 2003.
Lancashire had not won the championship outright since 1934 but their long wait ended in 2011.
Moores, flanked by England captain Alastair Cook and ECB managing director Paul Downton, told a news conference at Lord’s on Saturday: “It’s great to be back.
“I feel very excited, very proud to get this opportunity — it’s a great chance to work with Alastair, an outstanding player and person and try to build something.
“I’m very enthusiastic and want to get stuck into the challenge ahead.”
“Coaches have to develop and I think I’ve done that, and I’m looking forward to bringing that back here. You learn from mistakes, you develop.”
Cook added: “For me it’s a very exciting time. I’ve been in limbo over the last couple of months, since Andy Flower stepped down.
“To finally get to the day where we have a new coach, we can start planning for the future.”
– ‘Outstanding coach’ –
Downton hailed Moores as the “outstanding coach of his generation”.
Moores said he wanted to create an environment where you are “trying to make sure you help in a world where it’s hard for players to be themselves and help them be real people and have their own view”.
Former England wicketkeeper Downton then stepped in to say there would be no recall for a “disengaged”Pietersen.
Moores added: “The important point to make is I never fell out with Kevin, Kevin fell out with me. There’s a notable difference.”
Current Sri Lanka coach Paul Farbrace, has been tipped to join the England set-up as Moores’ “senior assistant”.
However, a coy Downton said: “We are in advanced negotiations to appoint an assistant coach.
“But at this stage, with due respect to his current employers, we’re not going to make an announcement on that.
“I hope we will be able to do so soon.”
With regard to to former England spinner Giles, Downton said that it had been a tough decision to make.
“I would personally like to thank Ashley Giles for the job he did with the limited-overs squads in the last 18 months.
“It was a really difficult decision to make as we had an outstanding field but the panel were unanimous in the choice of Peter.”
Flower remains in the ECB hierarchy, having been appointed to the newly-created post of technical director of elite coaching last month.
England’s next match is a one-day international against Scotland in Aberdeen on May 9 before Sri Lanka and India arrive for limited overs and Test series later in the season.
