IF PETER MOORES is still deeply troubled about his sacking as England coach in January, he makes a mighty fine job of concealing the fact.
After his Lancashire players had posed for official photographs on the Old Trafford outfield yesterday, their coach reiterated his commitment to them and to his new employers in very clear terms.
“Of course it hurts at the time when you lose a job like England coach, but I’ve got enough to look forward to,” he said. “As soon as you start working with a new group of players and you see their passion, their enthusiasm, you’re not looking back any more, you’re only looking forward.”
It didn’t harm, of course, that one of the biggest jobs in English cricket was available when Moores suddenly found himself unemployed.
“Lancashire came along at the perfect time for me,” he admitted. “I knew it was a great club, a huge club, and the chance to be involved in moulding some success for it is very exciting, and the longer I’m here, the more exciting it’ll get.”
And so Moores’ attention is now focused on this week’s friendly matches and the start of Lancashire’s competitive season against Glamorgan in the Friends Provident Trophy a week on Sunday. He is in no doubt that the county’s supporters expect to see success on the field.
“That’s the same at any club though,” he points out. “You’ve got to win to keep your membership happy. But I think our best chance of winning something will come not by concentrating on winning, but on doing things well and making sure that when a Lancashire team goes out there, it gives everything it’s got. If we do that, then hopefully the winning will take care of itself.”
Moores insists that his team has a “realistic” chance of lifting a trophy this summer, although only if a few things go their way. “I think the senior players will have to perform well,” he said. “But with Stuart Law and Dominic Cork leaving, we’ll have spots available for some of the emerging talent at the club.
“We’ll also need a bit of luck and we’ll need players to stay fit. That’s all part of the adventure we’re starting now.”
Aims like adventure, fun and enjoyment are key to Moores’ coaching philosophy. True, he believes those aims are often achieved by hard work and commitment but he plainly wants the cricketers in his charge to relish their sport. And he makes no secret of how much he is enjoying working with the Lancashire squad.
“The lads have been great,” he said. “They’ve worked hard and there’s been good banter – which is something I think you associate with the north-west.
“There’s also some very exciting talent there. Some of the players I obviously know well but there’s also the Karl Browns and the Steven Mullaneys. It’s part of the excitement to see who’s going to be the next one to stick his hand up and say he’s going to be one of the great Lancashire players.
“Left-arm spinners are gold dust around the country and we’ve got three of them,” he added. “So while it was disappointing for Gary Keedy that he broke his hand on the pre-season tour, it did give opportunities to Simon Kerrigan and Stephen Parry and I think we saw two slightly different cricketers, both of them very exciting prospects.”
Helping such talents to mature in the context of the team achievement is what Moores is all about. It was one of the chief reasons why he came to Old Trafford in the winter.
“I didn’t want the job if Lancashire didn’t think I could make a difference,” he said.
As to the possibility of returning to the international stage, the man in the red rose track-suit is very guarded.
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” he said. “It’s too far into the future. I’ve got plenty of work to do here and I’m going to concentrate on that.”
