Andy Moles was a stocky, unspectacular opening batsman who made the most of his abilities through hard work and determination. In 12 seasons with Warwickshire he scored 13,316 runs at 38.59, an excellent record, although his limited strokeplay and perceived immobility in the field meant that he never came close to an international call-up. His record in South African domestic cricket was even better, and in three seasons with Griqualand West in the late 1980s he scored 1989 runs at 64.16. After retiring he moved straight into coaching, returning to Griqualand West and in 2003 was appointed coach of Kenya. But the internal shambles and mismanagement within the board took its toll and in January 2005 he took over as Scotland coach. But after guiding them to the ICC Trophy, he fell out with some leading players and the board appeared to back them rather than him, making his position untenable and he quit. His globetrotting continued as he was then appointed to coach Northern Districts and that led to him replacing John Bracewell as the New Zealand coach in 2008. But within a year Moles had walked away, again against a backdrop of player unease.
Martin Williamson