Lancashire have to lose Peter Moores for cause of national good

I have mixed feelings about England putting their cricketing future in the hands of a man from their not-to-distant past. The appointment of Lancashire coach Peter Moores to the top job caught me by surprise. Of course, I want the best for England but I also fret about the fortunes of my Red Rose county. Moores has done well at Old Trafford and restored his reputation, which was somewhat tarnished by his messy departure from his first spell in charge of the national team in 2009. That episode followed a supposed spat with, surprise, surprise,  Kevin Pietersen, who at that time had been England captain. It seems that it doesn’t take much for people to fall out with Pietersen. But with the South African-born enigma now seemingly removed from the England ranks for good, the coast should be clear for Moores to make a smooth return.  So where does that leave Lancashire? The current four-day match against Warwickshire at Old Trafford will be Moores’ last at the helm. Since taking charge Moores has overseen a long overdue county championship success in 2011, presided over instant relegation the following season, then engineered a stroll to the Second Division title last year. It’s been a topsy-turvy ride but the pluses have outweighed the negatives.  Moores has earned himself the eternal gratitude of Lanky fans for that title euphoria in 2011, the first outright success for 77 long years. I was at Taunton the day that Lancashire’s victory over Somerset, together with Warwickshire’s draw at Hampshire, made for the perfect ending. It will forever be etched among my treasured sporting occasions. The west country venue is always one of my favourite away trips thanks to my carefully orchestrated agenda  of basing myself in the village of Trull, a wee wander of a mile and a bit from the city centre, in the delightful Winchester Arms. The pub setting is idyllic and the title evening was made extra special. Yet only 12 months earlier, there were plenty of questions being asked about Moores’ methods as Lancashire’s mentor.  I had been at Old Trafford on the final  day of the 2010 season to witness another title decider. Only this time it had been Nottinghamshire at the summit. Somerset had seemingly wrapped up their first-ever  crown earlier in the day at Durham. However, a feeble batting display by Lancashire’s upper order gifted Notts the necessary bonus points to snatch the glittering prize. There were plenty of frowns among the Lancashire crowd after an embarrassing finale to the summer and many seemed to disapprove of the Moores doctrine. I was based in the Rossendale Valley that evening at the home of great mates Jim and Philippa Chadwick.  Jim speaks his mind – and as a practising umpire in the Lancashire League, knows his cricket.  Upon my return from witnessing the Nottinghamshire celebrations, Jim had his say.  He reckoned Moores was too clever by half, with his modern coaching mantra. “Computer says…” intoned Jim, endlessly, mimicking the Little Britain sketch as a summation of Moores’ perceived over-elaborate leadership. Yet 12 months on Moores had changed things totally around with the unexpected title surge by a bunch of home-grown battlers. The relegation season was just as seismic an experience with constant batting frailties undermining the campaign. The yo-yo effect went on with a convincing platform built for comfortable promotion. Lancashire’s return this year to the elite has opened with a brave four-day  loss to Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge. So there may be more uncertain times ahead.  I can only wish Moores well in his England return. He would certainly have got my vote ahead of the other candidates, notably Ashley Giles.  The former England Test spinner and Warwickshire supremo apparently had the job for the taking after running the national one-day outfits.  But the recent embarrassing defeat by The Netherlands in the Twenty20 World Cup in Bangladash seems to have worked against him.  He certainly didn’t strike me as a leader with much gusto after his feeble speech following that sorry showing.  As a player he seemed to be a soft touch.  Even when he was part of England’s victorious Ashes team in the vintage home series of 2005, my one memory of his contribution is not a happy one. England had shown fighting spirit in the series opener at Lord’s but still been beaten by Australia.  For many onlookers it seemed like the same old story. Giles felt harshly treated by the critics and used his column in The Guardian, to tell the press to get off the team’s back. And in particular, to leave him alone. He did not come across as a strong character with that moan and groan outburst. With England’s shambolic Ashes surrender in Australia still all too  fresh, Giles hardly appeared to me to be the man to build a foundation for better things.  England’s misplaced arrogance was exposed horribly in Australia yet Giles was still talking about “complacency’ after The Netherlands debacle. His excuses just carried echoes of the same failings in the ranks being allowed to continue unchecked. Some of England’s bloated self-importance needs shooting down. Moores could be the overlord to do just that. Let’s not forget, he also won a first County Championship  in Sussex’s history as coach in 2003. He repeated the feat in 2006 in a double success with the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy coming after a win over, of all people, Lancashire in the one-day final at Lord’s. That hurt. I know because I was there.  Moores made up for that in the Red Rose realm with the stunning title treat in 2011. Perhaps “ Big Jim” will soon be looking on in Rossendale saying:  “Computer says… Moores is the man.’  Let’s hope so.  If Lancashire’s loss can be England’s gain, then I can live with that. Just…