Peter Moores could not have asked for a better start to his career as England coach.

His two big selection gambles have both paid off spectacularly.

Moores knows Matt Prior's game better than most but he still took a big punt when he selected the Sussex wicketkeeper-batsman, bearing in mind Prior's sketchy early season form and his indifferent one-day performances when he made his England debut in 2005.

Prior justified Moores' faith with a hundred on debut and solid work behind the stumps and while Ryan Sidebottom may have been seen as a horses for courses selection at Headingley, he grabbed his unexpected opportunity with eight wickets and at the same time gave renewed hope to many more talented county players who have been ignored by England.

Meanwhile, Moores has already earned some brownie points in the shires by allowing players to play for their counties between Tests.

It makes sense, of course, for the players to keep ticking over but Prior would not have made 76 for Sussex on Sunday if Duncan Fletcher had still been coach.

But perhaps the biggest bonus for Moores is that his first series is against as abysmal a side as West Indies.

Looking at their flaky top order, it beggars belief that the best batsmen the islands have ever produced is still in the Caribbean.

Brian Lara may have had his shortcomings as a captain but he was desperate to tour England for one last time and score that elusive Test-match hundred at Lord's.

The bowling is even worse. Jerome Taylor is the pick of a very ordinary bunch but Corey Collymore, for all his accuracy, would not be in my first-choice Sussex team, never mind playing for his country.

How hard it must be watching that lot for former West Indies; greats Colin Croft and Michael Holding up in the commentary box. To be honest, they could probably do as good a job if they got their bowling boots back on.

Rain saved West Indies at Lord's, they would have lost in three days at Headingley had it not poured down and I confidently predict a 3-0 series win for England.

All well and good for Moores, but the real tests lie ahead when India arrive at the end of the month.

As for West Indies cricket, let's hope that the millions they made from the World Cup can be invested in a proper domestic structure and an Academy which can produce a generation of players which can make luminaries like Holding and Croft proud again.