Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW
Vol. 5 Num 1047 Sun. May 13, 2007  
   
Sports


Moores's debut today


England's first Test squad since Peter Moores's appointment as coach will be unveiled on Sunday, for the first Test against West Indies at Lord's on Thursday, and it will give the clearest indication yet of the power that Moores possesses and the way he intends to use it.

The most notable decisions may include immediate forgiveness for Steve Harmison, the chance of an overdue second Test cap for Owais Shah and the inclusion of Matt Prior as wicketkeeper. All of them had fallen out of favour under the previous coach, Duncan Fletcher, and all have good, if not irresistible, arguments in favour of a recall.

Another recent England tradition will be re-enacted: the inclusion of the captain, Michael Vaughan, to be followed by days of indecision about his fitness and a re- airing of the debate about whether Andrew Strauss or Andrew Flintoff should deputise. The odds are that Vaughan, who fractured a finger batting last week, will accept he is unfit and that Strauss will be named captain at about Tuesday lunchtime.

The increasingly authoritarian reign of Fletcher, who is now in brief enforced retirement and scowling at the lounge curtains in Cape Town, should not encourage the assumption that the squad will be entirely of Moores's own choosing. England Test squads are not chosen only by the coach but by a selection committee also involving the chairman, David Graveney, and the former England all-rounder Geoff Miller. Whereas Fletcher used to fold his arms at the first sign of dissent, Moores, a relative novice, is likely to be amenable. It may yet be that the impending Schofield report recommends that the selection committee should be a thing of the past, but until that happens we will have to forgo dictatorship and make do with democracy.

Vaughan's doubtful fitness is an unfortunate beginning for Moores, who is anxious to establish his own faith that the Yorkshireman can have a prolonged international future. As faiths go, the Vaughan faith is a bit like the Church of England, involving no real desire for proof, merely a creeping feeling that it is preferable to the abandonment of hope.

At least Vaughan's injuries are getting smaller. The major knee reconstruction has been followed by an injured hamstring and now by a fractured finger. If the pattern continues he will miss Headingley with a migraine, at which point he will be miraculously restored to full health.

Whereas Fletcher gradually became convinced that Vaughan's presence around the squad when injured would be counterproductive, Moores will welcome his involvement at Lord's if, as expected, he is ruled unfit. That would give Vaughan security about his future and dissuade him from playing at Lord's before his finger was fully healed.

So far Moores has shied away from the major restructuring of his backroom staff that events in Australia and the World Cup suggested is essential. Andy Flower has replaced Matthew Maynard -- a Fletcher confidant -- as assistant coach and England's preparations will be sharper for it. But Kevin Shine, the bowling coach, remains, and nowhere has England's decline been more apparent. Under Troy Cooley England became the chief exponents of reverse swing; under Shine they can barely hit the cut bit.

Harmison has never been a contented tourist but it was his disillusionment with the Fletcher-Shine axis which tipped him into retirement from one-day cricket at 28, highlighting England's collapse of spirit after winning the Ashes. Afraid of the negative effect that the retirement would bring, England hid the paceman's decision for three months.

Harmison regarded Fletcher as severe and inflexible and his apathetic return to the North-east infuriated the coach. But Fletcher has departed, Harmison has begun his Durham season with zest and his replacements, led by Sajid Mahmood and Liam Plunkett, have looked far from the finished article.

Leicestershire's seamer Stuart Broad is highly regarded by Moores but he is injured again with a knee problem and has seen a specialist. At least Matthew Hoggard had a perfect workout for Yorkshire against Leicestershire yesterday.

Moores's view on England's wicketkeeper is also keenly awaited, with the assumption that he will favour a Test debut for Prior, whom he mentored as wicketkeeper and then coach for Sussex. The replacement so soon of Paul Nixon is regrettable because he is a character and he can take pride in his World Cup exploits, but he is 36 and was chosen as a one-day specialist. "The Badger" worked hard to plug the leaks but it is now time to divert the river.

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Peter Moores