Coach Moores is a big winner in report by Schofield

The document, drawn up by Ken Schofield, was delivered to Lord's by the highly respected former European golf supremo and includes recommendations for three new high-profile positions and a call for less cricket for international and county players.

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The big winner will unquestionably be new coach Peter Moores who, as long as the report is acted upon by the ECB, will retain almost all of the powers that were enjoyed by his predecessor Duncan Fletcher.

But it will leave question marks over the futures of chairman of selectors David Graveney and director of England cricket John Carr.

Schofield and his committee of experts - Micky Stewart, Angus Fraser, Nasser Hussain, Nick Knight, Hugh Morris and Brian Rose - were asked to look at the last four years and put in place recommendations for the next four.

In reality, their brief has been extended to cover every aspect of the running of the national team and much of the domestic structure.

They have told the board that there should be three new roles - a managing director of English cricket, a national selector and a director of county cricket - but they have stopped short of discussing personnel in current positions and those who might fill new ones.

The 'Schofield Six' maintain that hiring and firing is a matter for the ECB, who will make the Schofield findings public on Thursday.

The managing director would become the most influential person in the English game. Not only would he be the man ultimately responsible for appointing and firing England coaches and captains but he would also be expected to stand up to the ICC.

For instance, he will have to ensure England never again face a winter where they had to participate in the ICC Trophy, the Ashes and the World Cup in the space of six months.

Moores would have to report to the MD and have a regular dialogue with him, avoiding the kind of situation where the coach would, in effect, be answerable to no one.

In the latter stages of his seven-year reign, Fletcher had become so powerful that he had little or no communication with Carr and instead talked directly to his big ally, ECB chairman David Morgan.

Hence, there was little accountability.

The MD would also be the man responsible for discipline and would be the one dealing with any incidents similar to the Andrew Flintoff pedalo affair.

That way, the coach could stay out of disciplinary action and would be able to retain his working relationship with the players.

Moores, I understand, was reluctant to work with a full-time 'manager' and his wish will be granted. He also made it clear when he met the Schofield Committee that he wanted to remain a selector and that too has been accepted.

Graveney's position will become full-time and would undergo a subtle name change, to national selector. This would see England adopting the Australian policy of having a selector with the England team at all times and he would take much of the media strain away from Moores.

He would also, crucially, be on hand to make key selection decisions on tour, ending the current arrangement where the coach and captain make all selections when overseas.

Graveney told Sportsmail last month he wants to carry on and has been advocating that his position becomes a full-time one for much of his 10 years in office.

Whether he is offered the new role will be a matter for the ECB, who must decide whether to stay loyal to Graveney or make a clean break.

The director of county cricket would, in effect, replace the role of selector now occupied by Geoff Miller.

He would be the man the counties liaise with over any issue that affected their England players and would report to Moores on the form of any county player catching the coach's eye.

Schofield wants England to play less cricket, probably one less Test in an English summer.

He is also calling for the abolition of the county Pro40 league and wants the counties to play much of their limited-over cricket in one period in mid-summer so players can practise their one- day skills without first-class distraction.

It is a report full of logic and the ECB will be under pressure to adopt most, if not all, of its recommendations.

This would ensure there are no accusations that its commission was merely a public relations exercise after a disastrous winter.