Moores Handed England Job

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Moores - steps up from Academy role.

Peter Moores is excited by the challenge of coaching England after being named as Duncan Fletcher's permanent successor.

The England and Wales Cricket Board, who announced on Thursday that Zimbabwean Fletcher was to step down after eight years in charge of the national team, have moved quickly to promote their Academy director.

Moores, 44, led Sussex to their first County Championship title in 2003 before moving to the National Academy and coaching England A.

Moores said: "It is an honour to have been appointed as England head coach and to succeed Duncan Fletcher, who has been an outstanding coach of the England team.

"I have enjoyed my two years at the National Academy and my role with the England teams.

"The challenge of this new role excites me and I look forward to meeting up with the players on their return to the United Kingdom and to leading England to success in both Test and one-day cricket."

Fletcher will take charge of England for the last time in their final World Cup match against West Indies in Barbados on Saturday.

The end of Fletcher's reign was announced after England's hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the competition in the Caribbean were ended by defeat to South Africa on Tuesday.

Moores will officially take charge on May 1 and his first task will be to oversee this summer's home Test series against West Indies.

Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody and Bangladesh's Dav Whatmore had also been linked with the post but the ECB say they had long considered Moores as Fletcher's natural successor.

Chief executive David Collier said: "ECB has developed a contingency and succession plan for all key management positions.

"Peter has been identified for some time as a leading candidate as a future England head coach.

"He led Sussex to domestic success and is one of the highest qualified coaches in world cricket.

"He has worked since 2005 with the National Academy programme and has led tours with the England A Team.

"He is highly respected as an innovative and inspiring coach and is an ideal person to accept this appointment.

"In addition to the preparation of the Test team for the npower series versus the West Indies in five weeks' time, Peter will also commence the important work of preparing a new strategy for one-day cricket to match the improvements made in Test match cricket and to build a side for the 2009 ICC Twenty20 Championship in England and the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup in Asia."

England chairman of selectors David Graveney is looking forward to working with Moores.

Graveney told Sky Sports News: "I've worked with Peter before in terms of selection of A teams and he has done an outstanding job.

"He epitomises the 'level four' coaching within the UK and he did a fantastic job at Sussex. He is very thorough and great for the game."

Graveney also paid tribute to outgoing coach Fletcher who, among other successes, led England to Ashes victory in 2005.

He said: "He has been an outstanding coach. We had some low points but the Test ranking has got to number two and we held the Ashes, albeit for a short period of time."

PETER MOORES FACTFILE

1962: Born in Macclesfield, Cheshire on December 18

1983: Wicketkeeper makes county debut for Worcestershire.

1985: Makes debut for Sussex after leaving New Road.

1989: Awarded county cap.

1997: Moores named as Sussex captain.

1998: Retires from playing to take the role of first-team coach at Hove having scored more than 7,000 runs in his first-class career and taken 502 catches.

1999: Sussex win the National Cricket League Second Division title under Moores' guidance.

2000-01: Coaches England A on their tour of West Indies.

2001: Wins promotion to the top flight of domestic four-day cricket after claiming the Second Division County Championship title with Sussex.

2003: Leads Sussex to the Division One County Championship title - their first success in the competition in 164 years.

2004: Given an honorary MA degree by the University of Brighton.

2005: Announced as England's replacement to Australian Rod Marsh as the country's academy director.

2007: April 20 - Named as the successor to Duncan Fletcher as England coach. Fletcher's reign ended after a disappointing Ashes defeat and an unsatisfactory World Cup campaign.