Yorkshire coaching pair ready to ignore advances

Director of cricket Martyn Moxon has ruled himself out of the running to become the new managing director of the England team having been approached and interviewed by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

And second team coach Paul Farbrace is also staying at Headingley having been sounded out by Sri Lanka with a view to becoming their next head coach.

The news comes as a massive boost to Yorkshire, who have made significant strides under Moxon, Farbrace and first-team coach Jason Gillespie, who is also fully committed to continuing the work that has helped transform Yorkshire from a Second Division outfit into one that last summer finished runners-up in the County Championship First Division.

The talented trio of Moxon, Gillespie and Farbrace, tirelessly supported by director of development Ian Dews and development manager Richard Damms, believe they are creating something special at Headingley and have helped generate a sense of optimism not seen since the club last won the title in 2001.

Moxon has pulled the set-up together and overseen it with expert eye after Yorkshire completely reorganised their coaching structure after Championship relegation in 2011.

The former Yorkshire and England opening batsman, 53, has supported the work of Gillespie and Farbrace and provided help and direction as and when required to cement his reputation as one of the game’s most respected figures.

It is a reputation that twitched the antennae of the England and Wales Cricket Board, who invited him for interview for the role of England team managing director following the decision of Hugh Morris to stand down.

I understand Moxon was flattered by the approach but he has no desire to leave Headingley, where he has given many years of loyal service as player and coach.

After some testing times since re-joining Yorkshire from Durham in 2007, Moxon has worked hard to help revolutionise the club’s Championship form, with Yorkshire having just achieved their second-best Championship finish since 1975.

James Whitaker, the Yorkshire-born England selector, is now thought to be the leading candidate to replace Morris, who is to join Glamorgan in January as chief executive and director of cricket.

Whitaker has also been interviewed by the ECB, which is keen to appoint ahead of an Ashes tour in which the successful candidate is likely to shadow Morris for part of the trip. Whitaker, 51, led Leicestershire to two Championships as a player and was director of cricket and general manager when they won the Twenty20 Cup in 2004.

In his role as selector, he has played an important part in helping advance the claims of such as Yorkshire’s Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Gary Ballance.

The ECB widened their search for Morris’s replacement when a couple of high-profile candidates ruled themselves out.

Former England captain Andrew Strauss was seen as a strong contender but decided the time was not right, while Middlesex director of cricket Angus Fraser also opted out of the running.

The new man will control policy for all levels of England cricket including the senior side, the England Lions and Under-19s. Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, is heading the hunt for Morris’s successor.

Farbrace, 46, is another whose abilities have unsurprisingly gained wider recognition.

As previously reported, Sri Lanka approached the Yorkshire second team boss with a view to him replacing their South African head coach Graham Ford, who is leaving in the new year to take up the same job title at Surrey.

Farbrace, who had two years as Sri Lanka’s assistant coach between 2007-2009, is enormously respected by Sri Lanka’s players, with whom he remains good friends. He has done a splendid job at Yorkshire, helping oversee the development of young players such as Alex Lees and playing a significant part in turning Yorkshire into a top-class fielding outfit. Like Moxon, however, Farbrace is happy at Headingley.

The Yorkshire coaches are all good friends, and part of their success can be put down to the fact they are pulling in the same direction.

Moxon and Farbrace are highly experienced, while Gillespie is regarded as one of the game’s best up-and-coming coaches and has helped to create a winning mentality. The former Australia fast bowler, 38, is seen as a future international coach himself but is first of all committed to building on his work at Yorkshire, with his CV already boasting one Championship promotion, one Championship runners-up finish, one Twenty20 Cup final appearance and an appearance in the global Twenty20 Champions League.

Just as Yorkshire’s coaches have shown loyalty to the club, so the club have shown loyalty in return.

Chairman Colin Graves and chief executive Mark Arthur have publicly praised their work and spoken of their hope that the coaching staff stays together for a long time. Arthur recently said he has never previously seen during his years in sport such a strong rapport as exists between Yorkshire’s coaches and players.

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