In an era when many people can rule themselves out as coaching candidates simply because they happen to be home-grown, it may come as a surprise to see two first-class English counties bucking the trend in quick succession. But within just a week of Durham's announcement that Martyn Moxon is joining them from Yorkshire, Middlesex revealed that one of their longest-serving stalwarts, John Emburey, is to return to Lord's charged with the challenging role of reviving the county's flagging fortunes.

Emburey applied for the job shortly after the release of his former England and Middlesex colleague Mike Gatting, and he wasn't the first choice. The club originally hoped to appoint the Australian Tom Moody. "It was intimated that they would be looking overseas for a coach, and I was quite happy with that if they did, I would hopefully have another role to play," said Emburey. But Moody went back to Worcestershire, and the local man got the nod. "It's more or less on my doorstep – I only live ten minutes away. With less travelling time, it allows me to spend more time with the players."

As with Gatting at Lord's, Emburey's last coaching job ended uncomfortably. "Obviously I was released at Northants, and Mike Gatting was released at Middlesex, and it isn't very nice, but someone's got to do the job – if it wasn't me it would be someone else. It didn't work out at Northants, and I never actually got the reasons why."

With hindsight, Emburey believes his England involvement in the months of January and February was counter-productive at Northants, and that he should have packed up playing from the outset. "I think playing for a year and a half in the three seasons I had there was a mistake. And when I was involved with England and England A, I missed the chance to get to know the Northants players better. There was also some undermining by one or two individuals.

"I've put my international ambitions on hold for the moment – I need to build bridges with players and do a lot of one-to-one work and instil some confidence. I also need to work out a strategy. It's a big challenge. Richard Johnson has left and we're not quite sure what's going to happen to Mark Ramprakash. If we do lose Mark then it's a lot of runs that we're going to miss. They're two difficult players to replace, especially when there's no one on the market.

"There are a lot of young players there, batsmen in particular, who've underperformed in the past, and it's up to the captain and coach in particular to instil some confidence in those players."

Martyn Moxon Photo CricInfo

But as Emburey returns to his old stamping ground, another of his contemporaries is heading away from home for pastures new. Martyn Moxon, in between England commitments in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, has accepted Durham's offer to coach England's youngest first-class county. Unlike Emburey, he doesn't see his international commitments as a stumbling block at The Riverside. "The players aren't due to report back until mid-April, by which time I'm back from Sri Lanka. That only gives us a couple of weeks before our first proper fixture, but I'll be seeing the players that are at home during the winter before I leave.

"I feel working alongside Duncan Fletcher can only be a bonus for me. If I can learn anything from Duncan it can only benefit Durham in the long term. It would be nice to continue that relationship, although I don't know what will happen after Sri Lanka. Durham is my first priority and I don't want anything to affect that adversely."

Moxon's departure from Headingley could hardly be described as amicable. It followed Yorkshire's decision to withhold his salary for the period of his absence with the England team in Pakistan. "Some things happened at Yorkshire which disappointed me, and made me realise it was time to move on," said Moxon. "The Durham job was advertised, and I was fortunate to get it.

"Technically Yorkshire were within their rights not to pay me while I was on England duty, but I felt it was harsh. Initially the decision to leave was a massive one – I'd been there 22 years or so as player and coach. But it's in the past now. I'm fully committed to Durham and I'm looking forward to the challenge. They're a forward-looking club, they've got potential within their squad, and I'm hopeful that I can help to mould them into a successful side."

"I'd like to think that we'll be pushing for promotion from the Second Division this season. I haven't worked closely with the players yet, but on the face of it I don't see why we can't get into the promotion scrap. There are some good kids up there, so it's my aim along with the other coaches to develop the young talent."

With a Zimbabwean coach - Duncan Fletcher - duly receiving much of the credit for the present England revival, it may be a while before the wheel turns again towards home-grown coaches. But both Emburey and Moxon have the opportunity in 2001 to emulate Fletcher at county level – thereby enhancing their own longer-term international ambitions.

Additional reporting by Ralph Dellor.

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