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Cricket > Flower pushing England forward
By Tom Wald
June 30, 2010
Even in his playing days, Andy Flower had a happy knack of making the most of the resources around him.
By Tom Wald
June 30, 2010
Even in his playing days, Andy Flower had a happy knack of making the most of the resources around him.
As a hard-bitten wicketkeeper-batsman, Flower used all of his gifts to be a central figure in a Zimbabwe side that toppled some of the best teams on the planet.
He has since transferred that killer instinct to England in such a fashion that a triumph in this year's Ashes series in Australia is a definite possibility.
Since taking over the head coaching role from Peter Moores at the beginning of 2009, he has been able to bring a calming influence and liberate England's cricketers rather than let them dwell on past failures.
The gregarious Graeme Swann is one cricketer who has blossomed under Flower, becoming one of the world's leading spinners in the past year and a half.
"Satisfying thing for us is that we sat down 18 months ago and said we want to be number one in all formats and asked 'how are we going to do it?'," Swann said.
"We have plotted our way up to this point and everything has gone well.
"We have won the World Twenty20, we have won the Ashes, and won this (one-day) series after just three games, which you might expect against some teams but possibly not Australia, so I think it's testament to the way we are playing."
Captain Andrew Strauss's presence has certainly aided Flower's ambition to lift England back to the top of world cricket.
They are similar men in many ways and it is hard to believe that Flower could have struck up quite as tight a partnership with past skippers Andrew Flintoff or Kevin Pietersen.
Swann said Flower had allowed the players to take a "joyous approach" to the game.
"Andy was the architect of all in sitting us down and saying right we want to be No.1 in the world, we don't want to just win a series here or win a series there," he said.
"We have to beat the best teams in the world if we want to get there.
"I think the great thing Andy (Flower) has done is to instil a confidence in everyone to back their natural ability and perform on the big stage like the players do in the county games.
"That was exemplified in the T20 the way we went out.
"Not with carefree abandon but it was certainly almost a joyous approach compared with how England teams have approached T20 cricket the previous three years.
"He has found a theory that works and hopefully it will continue to work."
Not that Flower has been all soft and cuddly.
He has been prepared to literally trim the fat when needed, ditching the gifted Samit Patel in favour of the more svelte Mike Yardy in the limited-over arena.
He is not the first Zimbabwean to turn the old enemy into a cricketing force, Duncan Fletcher achieved that at the helm during England's drought-breaking 2005 Ashes triumph.
But unlike Fletcher's mob, Flower has managed to keep his players grounded following the high of an Ashes victory.
The post-Ashes celebrations in 2009 were modest compared to the crazy antics of 2005 and Flower's men have gone on to break the nation's title drought at major tournaments.
Last month's World Twenty20 victory in the Caribbean appears to have gone a long way to shredding the side's baggage from the nation coming up short in three World Cup finals.
Fletcher released a book the month after England won the Ashes in 2005 and has clearly revelled in his feud with Australian captain Ricky Ponting.
Not that Flower is averse to a fight, he pretty much finished his international career at the 2003 World Cup with his on-field protest against the "death of democracy" in his homeland.
It is just that unlike Fletcher, he doesn't see the point in causing angst for no good reason.
Fletcher cashed in on his time in charge, revealing Flintoff's errant ways on tour in another book and showed too much loyalty to players as England were swept aside 5-0 in the 2006/07 Ashes series in Australia.
Flower was initially hesistant to step up from assistant coach after Moores' departure.
He wasn't sure if he was the man for the top job.
Worringly for Australia, he is turning about to be just that.