England: Moxon's career ended by injury (11 Mar 1998)

11 March 1998

Moxon's career ended by injury

By Andrew Collomosse

MARTYN MOXON finally admitted defeat in his battle against a back injury when he announced his retirement yesterday.

Moxon, 37, restricted to nine County Championship appearances for Yorkshire last season because of the injury, underwent surgery to remove a piece of bone from his lower back in October.

Although the operation was successful, the former England opener has reluctantly decided that his back will no longer stand up to the rigours of the first-class game.

Thankfully, however, his talents will not be lost to Yorkshire or, for that matter, English cricket, courtesy of a three-year contract as the county's first Director of Coaching.

And Moxon, shortlisted last year for the post of the England and Wales Cricket Board Technical Director that eventually went to Glamorgan's Hugh Morris, is relishing his new career prospects.

"I can't try to pretend it won't hurt when I see the lads going out for the opening game of the season without me because I know deep down it will. A lot. But the problems I had last season made me realise I wasn't going to be playing this game forever and it was time to start looking to the future.

"Of course I'm going to miss the elation of scoring a century or the the thrill of beating Lancashire in a tight finish in a one-dayer at Old Trafford.

"But I'm sure I will gain just as much satisfaction from seeing our younger players develop and go on to win a few trophies."

Moxon, capped 10 times in the Eighties, is a product of the first ECB management course, designed to improve coaching and managerial skills among English players, and he has already had a sizeable imput into Yorkshire's pre-season programme.

"I will not be a selector, though. I want to create a situation where players can come to me and discuss any problems they may have, technical or mental, without feeling they are talking themselves out of the side."

Moxon has scored 21,161 first-class runs since he made his Yorkshire debut against Essex at Headingley in 1981, scoring 116 in the second innings. He captained the side from 1990 to 1995 and played the first of his 10 Tests against New Zealand at Lord's in 1986.

His bad luck has become part of cricket folklore, never better illustrated than by the Test century that got away against New Zealand at Auckland in 1988 when he was dismissed for 99 after three runs off the meat of the bat had been awarded to leg byes.

Michael Bell, 31, Warwickshire's left-arm pace bowler, is expected to sign for Surrey on a two-year contract today.

Gloucestershire left-arm seamer Mike Smith, 30, has agreed a new three-year contract with the county which will come into effect when his present deal runs out at the end of next season.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)