Andy Flower confirmed as England coach
Andy Flower will oversee England’s attempt to win back the Ashes, after the ECB confirmed his appointment as coach this afternoon.
Flower, who has been assistant coach since May 2007, takes the top job three months after the sacking of previous coach Peter Moores.
It is Flower’s first head coach role. “We have every belief that Andy has the potential to become a world-class coach,” said England MD Hugh Morris, in response to questions about Flower’s lack of experience. “We believe we have the right man to do the best job for England.
“I am delighted that Andy has accepted the role.
“I had the privilege of seeing Andy work with the England team during the recent Caribbean tour and he impressed not only me but also the players, the backroom staff, management and the ECB officials who were out there.
“He is a man of great cricketing pedigree as well as a man of unquestionable integrity. He will provide the outstanding leadership that England require as we embark on this most exciting and challenging of years.”
Morris said that the ECB had received 30 applicants for the job, but would not confirm how many of them had been interviewed.
Of his coaching philosophy, Flower, who is 40, said: “I think I’m honest and fairly open; I’d like to see an ethos of constant improvement in our side. As for any details on our strategy moving forward, I’ve obviously only just taken on the role, so those will have to wait.
“The relationship with the captain is very important. I respect Andrew Strauss. I think he’s a very good cricketer and a very good captain – so we’re starting on the right note.”
Having played 63 Tests for Zimbabwe, the last in 2002, Flower became assistant coach to then-England boss Peter Moores in 2007. He had already spent two winters working as a specialist batting coach with the ECB Academy.
Under Moores, England lost their six-year unbeaten home record and lost four Test series out of seven. Flower took over as, effectively, a caretaker head coach for the recent West Indies series, after the January sacking of Moores. The 1-0 defeat in the Caribbean continued England’s poor run, though Flower and new skipper Andrew Strauss struck up a good working relationship that the ECB have decided offers the best way forward for the team.
Cynics will say that the ECB’s hand has been forced: the head-hunting agency appointed to find the new coach has found the leading lights of world cricket less than keen to get involved with the England job. John Buchanan, Tom Moody and Graham Ford all opted out of the race while South Africa coach Mickey Arthur was apparently approached only belatedly, after he had signed a new contract with South Africa.
Flower, once ranked the world’s No 1 batsman, is highly rated as a specialist batting coach. Though he has never been head coach of a club or national team, he also brings the advantages of his recent experience as a top-flight player as well as his background with Zimbabwe, where an under-rated team punched above their weight to produce some outstanding results, after achieving Test status in the early 1990s.
