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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Matthew Cooper

Former England head coach admits "tough" job left him "bruised and battered"

Current Nottinghamshire head coach Peter Moores had two stints in charge of England and has admitted the job left him "bruised and battered".

Moores first took over as England head coach in 2007, replacing Duncan Fletcher after England were whitewashed 5-0 in the 2006-07 Ashes. However, that stint ended acrimoniously following a high-profile fallout with then captain Kevin Pietersen in 2009, with Moores ultimately sacked.

He then returned to the job in 2014 when Andy Flower's time in charge ended, but was axed just a year later following a drawn Test series against the West Indies and a group stage exit at the Cricket World Cup. Despite this, Moores looks back fondly on his time in charge of England.

In a video produced by Vertu Motors, Moores said: "England was a great moment. When you're given recognition to go and coach for England and work with the best players...

"I loved my time at Lancs, but the thought of coaching your country and in some ways have another go at it, I was ready for it. I was a good coach.

"It was a tough time for English cricket, we'd just lost 5-0 in an Ashes both times I'd taken it. It was a transition period and I knew transitions.

Peter Moores (L) had two spells as England head coach (Michael Steele/Getty Images)

"We brought a lot of players in at that point who went on and had great careers. When you come out of a job like that, like most things you're a bit bruised and battered but eventually I look and say 'well, the game doesn't owe me anything'."

During Moores' first spell with England, he recalled Graeme Swann and handed Matt Prior his debut, two players that were key to England becoming the number one side in the world under Flower. In his second spell, Moores gave Moeen Ali his debut and recalled current captain Ben Stokes to the Test team after almost a year away.

Before getting the England job for the first time, Moores was in charge of the England Academy, having succeeded Australia legend Rod Marsh. "I was really lucky when I went into the England academy job after Rod Marsh that in that first intake, we had people like Stuart Broad and Alastair Cook, Ian Bell was around, and a lot of these guys went on to play 100 Test matches," he added.

"Stuart is an interesting one because I had seen him when he very first came in. All these years on I'm still coaching him.

"Matt Prior, I coached him first when he was 12 and I was still a player and I remember going home to my wife and saying 'If I'm still playing when he's 18 I think he's going to take my spot.

"To me, it's really exciting when you see somebody early and then you see them make their Test debut. I was lucky enough to be the coach that gave Matt his Test debut."

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