Moores on the aftermath of Notts' Championship win

One thing was conspicuous by its absence at the Nottinghamshire pre-season team photocall - the County Championship trophy they won last season.

It was very briefly unboxed for the sponsors but kept far away from the team, and for head coach Peter Moores that was a very conscious choice.

"It's deliberate," he said, "It is in the past. It was a brilliant season, it was a great day, but the past is exactly where it should be now."

If any coach knows how to handle a County Championship win it is Peter Moores, who is the only man in history to lead three different sides to domestic cricket's top prize.

This latest title was won under huge pressure - Moores' Notts had four seasons of struggle either side of Covid, including a spell in the second division. A significant proportion of the Trent Bridge membership were suggesting his time was up.

Even so, Moores did not see lifting the trophy as a personal triumph.

"I think it's not a vindication really. I think generally a Championship is the toughest trophy to win because it always feels to me like it's a club championship. The whole club's got to be involved in it," he added.

"But I think you're always grateful to be given time as a coach because my style is trying to develop players and we've seen this side develop over the years."

Often those players are ones who have shown early promise - even on the international stage - but whose game had fallen away or stagnated.

Take Ben Duckett, who arrived at Notts in 2018 after his early England promise had stalled and found exactly the right coach to put him back on track.

"Moores is great for me because he's not like a full-on technical coach. He'll throw for hours and he sees the game so well," Duckett said.

"We've got a great relationship. You know I haven't spent a lot of time here over the last few years and a lot of coaches would probably focus on what they've got but he'll constantly message me throughout the winter whether I'm doing well or struggling and it's nice to have that support."

That relationship so key to Duckett that he has now given up a lucrative spot in the IPL to see if some Trent Bridge time can get his red ball form back where he wants it to be.

Another player lifted from a youthful dip in his game is Notts captain Haseeb Hameed who arrived at Trent Bridge at the age of 22 after being released by Lancashire.

"[Moores] has got a system that works but it's also the relationships that he builds with players on an individual level," he said.

"People want to play for him and I think a big part of the tight-knit group that we have is the way he handles everything."

Some pundits think an England recall for Hameed is long overdue but Peter Moores would be reluctant to take too much credit for what his players are achieving.

"Part of the great fun I love about coaching is that the players do it, we just stand with them and try and help them," Moores continued.

"Then you start to see them understand themselves and their game and go out and deliver some of their skills on the field. Certainly if they get to do it internationally, it's a great privilege to have been part of it."

Moores did say you would have to ask the players exactly what it is he gets right but he was willing to identify what he tries to achieve.

"I love talking the game. I think you give players time, you always give them support and you've really got to, in some ways, let them make their own mistakes," he added.

"You can say, I think there's something over here for you to have a look at, but it's their game, they've got to develop it.

"Do not try and be the fixer. The player's got to fix himself, you've got to be there with him."

Moores has had to fix himself too. He had two unhappy spells as England coach, coming to Nottinghamshire initially as a coaching consultant after his second national sacking in 2015.

Over 10 years on from that moment, winning the County Championship has not diminished his drive to succeed.

And he also heaps praise on the coaching team around him.

"I think we have a good time, if I'm honest," he added.

"Probably the last time I was with England I came out of the game then and decided the game didn't owe me anything.

"I was going to enjoy it every day, I was going to make sure if I was having a good time hopefully people around me would too."