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England Set To Name Moores

England Set To Name Moores

Sky sources report that Peter Moores is to be named England head coach on Saturday morning, with Paul Farbrace set to act as his assistant.

Paul Downton, the managing director of England Cricket, will announce the new appointment at Lord's at 10.30am, and he will be accompanied by the new coach and skipper Alastair Cook.

Lancashire coach Moores is set to return for a second stint in the top job, having been removed from the post in 2009 after a falling-out with then-captain Kevin Pietersen.

Limited-overs coach Ashley Giles was initially strong favourite to take the reins, after Andy Flower resigned as team director in January in the aftermath of England's Ashes whitewash in Australia.

But a series of miserable performance from Giles' charges, with only five wins in 18 ODIs and T20 games in 2014, saw his stock plummet.

Moores was first named England head coach in April 2007 and he oversaw the team for 22 Tests, of which eight were won, six lost, and eight drawn.

However, following Test and one-day series losses in India, it emerged in January 2009 that Moores and Pietersen were in dispute.

Moores was removed as coach that month and Pietersen resigned as captain, although he continued as a player and has suggested subsequently that the removal of Moores was to the benefit of the side.

The 51-year-old Moores took up a post as coach of Lancashire in February of that year and led them to the County Championship title in 2011, their first for more than 70 years.

They were surprisingly relegated the following season but bounced straight back, winning the second division title last year.

Moores is reportedly set to be assisted by Farbrace, who is fresh from leading Sri Lanka to the World T20 title.

The 46-year-old Englishman represented Kent and Middlesex in his playing days, and, since retiring, has coached Kent, the England U19 team and the national women's team.

After a previous spell as assistant, he was named head coach of Sri Lanka in December last year and, having quickly led them to a memorable World T20 victory, he appears poised to quit and claim a high-profile post in the new England hierarchy.

If Moores does get the nod on Saturday, there may be no role at all for Giles, as the ECB's job specification stipulated that the successful applicant for head coach will take charge of the limited-overs teams, as well as the Test side.

Nottinghamshire's Mick Newell and Sussex's Mark Robinson are also understood to have been interviewed during the past week, as has Australian Trevor Bayliss, the former Sri Lanka coach.

England's next fixture is a one-day international against Scotland in Aberdeen on 9 May.