Sheriyar and Moores - two unlikely beacons of hope

During a fitful career, Alamgir Sheriyar has managed to leave a few indelible marks. He took a hat-trick on his Championship debut, only the second player to do so.

During a fitful career, Alamgir Sheriyar has managed to leave a few indelible marks. He took a hat-trick on his Championship debut, only the second player to do so.

This always presents the opportunity to mention the first, the somewhat harshly treated fast bowler Herbert Sedgwick, who did it in 1906 in taking 5 for 8 for Yorkshire but played only two more matches. He would probably make Yorkshire's team for a couple of decades now.

In 1999, Sheriyar assured himself of another small but permanent place in the annals by being the country's leading wicket-taker. This is some achievement in any year, and since he was preceded by Courtney Walsh and succeeded by Glenn McGrath, it shows that it is not the preserve of deadbeats.

But Sheriyar wrote perhaps his most important and far-reaching footnote last week when he became the first player to move from one county to another under the new loan system.

Worcestershire, where he started his career and for whom he took that hat-trick, found themselves short of seam-bowling options at the start of the season, Kent found him temporarily surplus to requirements. The upshot is that an experienced cricketer of 31 will not be marking time in the second team. All parties could obviously benefit.

In its way the new loan system might revolutionise English cricket, because it will encourage counties to look at home rather than recruit some high-priced, short-term foreigner, either star or Kolpak has-been or never-was.

Careers going nowhere could be given fresh direction. For instance, Chris Schofield, who has applied to an industrial tribunal claiming unfair dismissal by Lancashire, might have benefited last summer from a spell elsewhere and salvaged his career from what looks like the wreckage in doing so.

It might also prevent counties from making players one-day specialists (several have already tried offering limited-overs contracts only).

This is the game's second stab at loans, and it has been fostered by the Professional Cricketers' Association after the previous system fell into abeyance simply because it was never used. Richard Bevan, the PCA's chief executive, made his views clear in a letter to counties.

"It should mean that unexpected losses to your squad don't have to be covered by emergency recruitment - no agents' fees, plane tickets or the increased administration of having to actually employ another player." It may be wise not to bet on this yet. But Bevan expects at least 10 loans between clubs this summer.

As much as anything else, the reintroduction of a loan procedure that might work is a sign of English cricket's renewed self-confidence, which should become clearer at the launch of the Structure Review on Tuesday. The feeling that the game is more at ease with itself was also evident in the appointment of Peter Moores as the new director of the National Academy. As recently as a year ago, whatever Moores' considerable virtues, the likelihood is that the England and Wales Cricket Board would have been tempted to hire a foreigner, probably an Australian.

In the event, they overlooked the highly rated Tom Moody, of Worcestershire. Quite right too. Moores won a Championship with Sussex; Moody's Worcestershire were relegated last season. Moores also beat off opposition from luminaries like Mike Gatting, who was believed to have had support from the incumbent, Rod Marsh. It is possible Moores may succeed Duncan Fletcher as England's coach.

There is nothing wrong in going for the best man for the job, no matter what his nationality. Seven Test-playing countries now have foreign coaches, and the full list contains four Australians, two New Zealanders, a South African, a West Indian, a Zimbabwean and an Englishman, the last three in charge of countries where they were not born.

Incidentally, the Englishman, Bob Woolmer, who coaches Pakistan, is beginning to look like some kind of miracle-worker, having been unfairly lambasted. However, the idea of Australia hiring a non-Australian is a non-starter.

Moores is a profoundly thoughtful coach, who has perfected the trick of noticing little, important things, one of Fletcher's key assets. "He does the basics so well and his enthusiasm is wonderful," said Chris Adams, the Sussex captain, who has worked with him for eight years. "He listens and he has made a difference to me and to the life of every player at Sussex."

Moores is not afraid to innovate, and Sussex are throwing differently this season because of an idea that Matt Prior brought back, somewhat ironically, from the National Academy. Moores listened to his description and decided that Sussex should try it.

"If you rang him up at midnight saying you wanted some throw-downs in the nets at 6am he'd probably be there before you," said Adams. "He has a perpetual stream of ideas, and while he will want to make a success of the Academy first and England have a very fine coach already, I could see him coaching England.

"We've been a partnership from the start. When I came to Sussex to talk about joining them. I got talking to Pete outside and got a bollocking for being 10 minutes' late for the interview."

Marsh, one of the most celebrated of all cricketers, was a surprise appointment and so is Moores, one of the least celebrated. They were both right for their time and right for English cricket.