Andy Flower confirmed as England coach
April 15, 2009 by Duncan Steer
Filed under News
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.
‘I pick the team but the captain is the leader’
South Africa coach Mickey Arthur has been speaking exclusively to SPIN about his coaching methods.
Arthur, who has recently been approached in connection with the vacant England coaching job, has just signed a new three-year contract with South Africa. He told SPIN “I’m very happy with South Africa. I love every minute of the job I do. I’m thoroughly enjoying it at the moment.”
But with Tom Moody and Graham Ford having counted themselves out of the running, the ECB’s short-list is getting ever shorter. And Arthur, who, with skipper Graeme Smith, has made South Africa the No 1 ODI team in the world, may become an increasingly attractive proposition.
Arthur’s team has registered series wins in England and Australia over the last nine months. Beyond caretaker coach Andy Flower and ex-India boss John Wright, Arthur is one of the few remaining candidates.
His interview, with SPIN’s Wayne Veysey, provides some intriguing clues as to how he would run the England team. It appears in full in the April issue of SPIN, on news-stands now, or available from the SPIN shop. The following is an extract.
SPIN: Who is the boss? The captain or the coach?
Mickey Arthur: I’m a big believer that the captain is still the leader. They both lead in their own jobs: the captain on the field and the coach off the field. All off-field activities in terms of preparation are my area. Then Graeme takes over the team meeting the night before a game and I will back him up. So we know exactly where we stand.
On tour we will meet virtually every day to decide what we’re going to do and who is going to say what. It’s vital that we don’t contradict each other. Coaches can over-complicate issues. Coaches can be too technical. What I have done is try and create the environment for our players to perform by giving them stability in their jobs and consistency in what we tell them.
How should a captain- coach relationship work?
They must sit down and formulate the brand of cricket that they want the team to play and to pick the personnel to implement the brand. Graeme and I thrashed out our thoughts on cricket and we felt exactly the same. I’m a firm believer in the captain and coach having the same philosophy and sharing the same methods so not to confuse the players. We both wanted our team to take the game forward, to play without fear. Previous South African teams had been too tentative in their approach.
How do you motivate the team’s batsmen?
I like the guys to take responsibility as a group. In every Test we ask the top six to get 300 runs in the first innings. That is their job. It takes the ‘I’ out of the group. As a top six they are working as a team. When players have clarity, you get accountability and performance. There are a lot of slogans in the dressing room and they get a document saying, ‘I am responsible for these runs.’
And the bowlers?
We encourage the bowlers to strive for 20 wickets. They are each given specific roles. We have three attacking bowlers – Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini and Morne Morkel. As a unit they are all different. Dale is skiddy and swings it out at pace; Morne is tall and gets bounce; Ntini comes in at you from wide on the crease. They are different forms of attack.
The holding roles are done by Paul Harris and Jacques Kallis. They are a bit more defensive. I need a spinner and Kallis to hold the game. Dale is our spearhead. He is the go-to man. At most times we are looking for him to strike. Ntini and Morne to a degree have the same responsibility.
Should the coach select the players?
I am one of four selectors. I sit on the panel and so does Graeme. I’m asked for my opinion on the squad. I don’t have a vote on the squad but I feature very strongly in discussions. Once the squad is selected, I become the sole selector at home and abroad. At home you are always with the convenor [chief selector].
Abroad, I become the sole selector. Graeme and I have a lot of discussion but ultimately we are always on the same page. We have never had conflict. Because we share the same philosophy, selecting becomes an easy thing.
How far ahead do you plan?
All good teams look ahead. We have our eye on succession planning. We identified JP Duminy two years ago as our next best batsman. He has been travelling with us for two years in Test cricket as a member of the squad and been playing one-day international cricket. It has been no fluke. We deliberately brought him through two years with that in mind.
We have got a young quick bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe who is the future. In terms of all-rounders Albie Morkel could be a Test all-rounder. I think he could be. Imran Tahir could be the missing piece. He could enable us to play two spinners on the sub-continent.
And finally… Are you interested in becoming England coach?
I will never say never. But I have just signed a three-year contract and I’m very happy with South Africa. I love every minute of the job I do. I’m thoroughly enjoying it at the moment.
