OTHER SPORT

WALES WAITING FOR ENGLAND TO AXE MAYNARD

Matthew Maynard

Sunday April 29,2007

By John Austin

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MATTHEW Maynard will be welcomed back with open arms by Glamorgan if he is sacked from the England coaching team.

The former batsman, Duncan Fletcher's assistant for the past two years, has been warned by England bosses that he could lose his job under new head coach Peter Moores.

But Glamorgan look certain to find a role for him at Sophia Gardens, the ground where he set county batting records over 20 years as a player.

Moores is due to take charge of England on Tuesday and Maynard is well aware that the new man may look to bring in his own coaching team.

His England contract runs out in the summer and Maynard, 41, suspects he may be offered a lesser role...if he is retained at all.

Speaking before the rain-delayed start of the World Cup final between Australia and Sri Lanka yesterday, Maynard revealed: "I haven't a clue about what's going on and it is a little bit strange but things will work out.

"John Carr (England's director of cricket) came up to me a day after Duncan resigned and said: 'Look, we don't know what Peter Moores will want when he comes in. He might want to bring his own team in. We might want you to work with the Academy guys, just looking around the country at batsmen or working with individual batsmen'.

"So I don't know. I'm going to have 10 days to get over the jetlag and get over the winter.

"I'll start training again, start getting the cricket head on again and see what happens after that."

But Glamorgan chairman Paul Russell makes no secret that the Welsh club would be delighted to welcome back Maynard, who captained them to the County Championship title ten years ago.

And Lancashire-born Maynard is equally keen to return. He said: "I played at Glamorgan for 20 years and I love the place. I'd love to come back one day and coach."

Glamorgan's rookie coach Adrian Shaw, 35, has been assured he will be given time to make his mark in his first senior coaching post.

But the position of director of cricket has already been mooted and is highly likely to appeal to Maynard.