Peter Moores has had a tremendous innings at Sussex County Cricket Club and I couldn't have been happier for him when I heard he had landed the top job at the National Cricket Academy, replacing Rod Marsh.

I remember Peter's arrival at the County Ground as a fresh-faced wicket-keeper from back in the late-Eighties.

He was an excellent keeper and made runs to boot. However, he just couldn't get into coaching quickly enough - he possesses a rare gift of being able to enthuse and motivate whoever he is teaching, be they kids or seasoned professionals.

This enthusiasm for the game must have shone through brightly when Peter was being interviewed for the position of Cricket Academy director.

He has a tough act to follow in Rod Marsh, who has done a magnificent job of knocking - and I mean knocking - a whole generation of future England stars into shape.

I'll bet a lot of them arrived at the Academy thinking they had nothing more to learn - that they were already the finished article - and Rod would have brought them crashing back down to Earth with a thump.

Peter will no doubt bring a slightly different approach to the job but, judging by the success he has had at Sussex, I am certain he will prove more than equal to the task.

And if he works hard enough, as I know he will, then he could be in pole position to take over from Duncan Fletcher as the England team's coach.

One of my proudest moments was attending the special reception that Brighton and Hove City Council put on for Sussex after they had won the County Championship for the first time in their history in 2003.

The likes of the great John Snow and chairman David Green were there.

Peter Moores kindly allowed me to hold the cherished trophy.

I celebrated by running around the room with it like a headless chicken - a proud, Sussex headless chicken.

-Peter Willows,Conservative councillor for Hangleton & Knoll