Moore of the same for England or a new start?
After all the speculation and hearsay in
the cricket world, the announcement that Peter Moores was the new England
coach ended up being a little flat. The Lancashire native threw his name into
the hat and a short while later was chosen ahead of Ashley Giles, seemingly the
only other man who genuinely wanted the job.
The 51-year-old appears to be relishing taking
charge of England for a second time, with 'unfinished business' the phrase on
many pundits' lips. Moores' previous spell as England coach lasted less than
two years, a fall out with Kevin Pietersen ending his reign in dramatic fashion.
With Pietersen's name finally starting to collect dust in the Lord's history
books after his enforced international exiling, Moores has been given a second
chance.
It is obvious England need some new ideas
and to have the slate wiped clean after one of the worst winters in English
cricketing history. No one, even the
bookmakers, predicted the dramatic fall from grace
Alastair Cook and co were forced to endure but it has cleared the way for a new
beginning in the national set-up.
There was a time under Andy Flower when the
England team used to pick itself. Those days are gone and with the exception of
Cook, nobody's place in the squad is guaranteed anymore. It might be some time
until England settle on a first choice XI and the experimentation has already
begun with the selection of Nottinghamshire paceman Harry Gurney for the ODI
clash with Scotland.
Moores has plenty of decisions to make
regarding his team selection, with spots open in the batting and bowling
department. Sam Robson could be a name we hear a lot of this summer if he is
given the chance to impress in the Test arena, the 24-year-old Australian-born
batsman having shone on the Performance Programme in the winter.
Fans will have to be patient as Moores is
likely to make a few mistakes along the way with his selections but as the
overall goal is to find a winning combination he might be forgiven the odd
error in judgement if progress is shown.
Moores will also be tasked with changing
England's style of play, Cook having been criticised for taking an overly
cautious approach to the Ashes series this winter. Cook is still building up
his captaincy skills and Moores will need to give him a bit more confidence to
set attacking fields and be more aggressive when batting.
The five Test series with India this summer
should be fascinating as a result of what Moores has to work with. India are
also a team in transition and it will be a good test for Moores' new-look side.
Come through that with their heads held high and people might start to believe
in English cricket again.
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