Moores wins coaching accolade

Peter Moores has been accepted on to UK Sport's Elite Programme for world-class coaching development. The Lancashire head coach is one of only 10 coaches to be accepted on to the programme and one of only two from non-Olympic sports.

As part of the role, Moores will share knowledge and expertise with leading coaches currently working in British sport during a three-year programme which was announced by UK Sport last November. The programme is designed to help ensure Britain's leading athletes can continue to benefit from top-quality coaching as part of UK Sport's wider planning for the next Olympiad in Rio in 2016. It will not affect his role with Lancashire.

There may be a few raised eye-brows at the appointment. Moores endured some disappointing results in his tenure as England coach in 2007 and 2008 and, along with the captain Kevin Pietersen, was sacked after it became clear that the pair's working relationship had deteriorated to an unsustainable level.

His record at domestic level is exceptional, however. He coached Sussex to the first Championship title in their history in 2003 and, having moved to Old Trafford, took a Lancashire side some thought the weakest in many years to a well-deserved Championship title in 2011.

While relegation followed in 2012, Moores' reputation among most players at both clubs and within the England set-up is excellent. He was largely responsible for recognising the international potential of Graeme Swann and Matt Prior and was the man who decided to install James Anderson and Stuart Broad as the leaders of England's attack. Andy Flower, the current England coach, has always been quick to credit Moores for his foundation-laying role with the side and, when the PCB wanted an independent review of its domestic cricket structure conducted last November, they appointed Moores for the task.

"Peter has always been at the forefront of our ongoing efforts to ensure that cricket can learn and share best coaching practice with other sports and I am delighted that he has been chosen to be part of such a prestigious and innovative programme," Hugh Morris, the ECB's managing director of England cricket, said. "It is a tremendous personal honour for him and will undoubtedly be of long-term benefit to our game."

"I am proud and honoured to have been selected for this fantastic programme," Moores said. "I have always thrived in elite coaching environments and to be working with top coaches from other sports will be an incredible experience. I continue to have very strong ambitions for my coaching career within cricket and I see this as a great marker in that path. I'd like to thank Lancashire CCC and the ECB for their support throughout this process."

Lancashire's Cricket Director Mike Watkinson added: "We are delighted that Peter has been accepted to be a part of this world class coaching programme. Despite his successes and achievements as a coach he always strives to improve personally and create a challenging environment for himself and his players. This will be a great opportunity to further develop and share knowledge and experiences across the various sports."