Moores the merrier in final battle
PETER MOORES will aim to celebrate his England dismissal today by lifting the Royal London One-Day Cup at Lord’s.
It is just over two years since he was axed from the international job for the second time, but the Notts coach will be aiming to show he is back in business against Surrey.
“When you leave a job like that you need to repair yourself. It is quite a brutal game moving out of the job when you have committed an awful lot to it,” he said of his second stint with England.
Chance
“But I have moved on from them now.”
He was put in charge of Notts at the end of last season and has taken a team that was relegated to top spot in Division Two and in with a chance of lifting the first trophy of the season today.
They face a Surrey side with one of the most formidable batting line-ups in the country containing Jason Roy, Mark Stoneman, Kumar Sangakkara, Rory Burns and Ben Foulkes. But Notts are no slouches in that regard either.
They posted 429-9 in their quarter final and 370-5 in their semi – and in Stuart Broad and James Pattinson, Moores believes they have two bowlers capable of making the difference.
“We are playing really good cricket at the moment,” Moores said.
“Stuart looks okay (following his heel injury) and while it is a real shame losing Jake Ball to injury, James Pattinson has been brilliant for us.
“He has real quality and pace and as a No.8 brings real batting depth.
“One of the biggest things is his attitude and how he approaches things.
“He is an all-in cricketer and has fired other players around the team and the members love him for that.” England women will bid to build on their confidence-boosting midweek win against Pakistan when they face Sri Lanka in the World Cup at Taunton tomorrow.