England cricket coach Andy Flower is reportedly among the few names
who have been shortlisted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India
for coaching the national side.
The post of India’s coach was left vacant after Gary Kirsten
left the team following the completion of his contract recently.
Kirsten guided the Men in Blue to their second ever ICC World Cup title
in April 2011.
These reports left the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) nervous prompting it to nail the former Zimbabwe wicketkeeper for another three years.
A leading sports website on Tuesday claimed that Flower and Duncan Fletcher are among the shortlisted candidates to coach the ICC World Cup 2011 winning team of India.
Flower took over as England national team’s head coach back in 2009 after Peter Moores stepped down following a run-in with prolific batsman Kevin Pietersen.
Flower’s two-year coaching stint helped the Andrew Strauss-led
England team to two successive home and away Ashes series wins. He also
guided England to their first-ever ICC title, the 2010 World Twenty20
championship.
During Flower’s two years in charge, England played 29 Test matches
winning 15 and losing just five of them while the rest were drawn. Their
One Day International record under his reign is less impressive as they
won 27 out of a total of 56 ODIs during that
time period. Four of the remaining 29 ODIs were abandoned or tied so a
winning rate of above 50 per cent is decent enough.
Looking at Flower’s successful stint with the team, the ECB is
determined to hold on to the Zimbabwean and is doing all it can to
prevent him from being lured by the BCCI.
“Andy Flower has been offered a new three-year contract as the
England and Wales Cricket Board attempts to head off any moves for their
highly rated coach from India,” read the report. “...Flower is due to
meet Hugh Morris, the managing director of the England
team, at the end of the month to discuss his long-term future and the direction of the England set-up.”
Like the board, the England players are also eager to have the
42-year-old for another term. England wicketkeeper batsman Matt Prior
recently praised his coach.
“He has been fantastic. The main thing I love about Andy is he is
honest. He is a good human being. There are no politics. He just wants
to win,” said Prior.
The wicketkeeper further added that Flower backs the players 100 per
cent and this helps the players to be confident about themselves.
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