BCCI PRESIDENT SHASHANK MANOHAR SAYS THE BOARD IN NO HURRY TO HIRE NEW COACH

The Board of Control for Cricket in India President Shashank Manohar said on Friday that the Board is in no hurry to hire a new head coach for the team.

The BCCI president said that the India cricket team has no international assignment until June 1, 2011 so they are in no hurry to bring in a head coach. He however, did confirm that they are in the process of finding a replacement for Gary Kirsten who stepped down from the position after India’s successful ICC World Cup 2011 campaign.

“We are still in the process of doing so (finding a new team coach). There's no hurry as the team is leaving for the West Indies only on June 1,” said Manohar while talking to media reporters on Friday.

He also turned down any possibility of deciding on the matter in BCCI’s Working Committee meeting scheduled to be held on April 27, 2011. Manohar said that the agenda of Wednesday’s meeting would include various sub-committees’ reports.

Many names, including England head coach Andy Flower are doing the rounds as the best possible replacement of the South African. There are also talks that the BCCI may hire an interim coach for team’s tour of West Indies starting in June 2011 if they fail to find a fitting replacement for Kirsten.

The BCCI president also confirmed that they have reached an agreement with the Sri Lanka Cricket and their players are now available to their respective Indian Premier League franchises until May 18, 2011.

When asked about the Sri Lanka speedster, Lasith Malinga– who was called back by the SLC for faking a knee injury– Manohar said that he does not know about individual players.

Malinga excused from joining the national side for tour of England citing a knee injury so that he could play for Mumbai Indians in the remaining part of the IPL but the SLC called him back to join a rehabilitation program.

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ANDY FLOWER TO BE OFFERED NEW CONTRACT BY ENGLAND

• England coach Andy Flower to be offered new contract by England and Wales Cricket Board

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is all set to offer Andy Flower a new contract for three years in a bid to keep him with the side.

The decision has come after news emerged that England national team coach Flower was being considered by the Board of Control for Cricket in India to replace their ICC World Cup 2011 triumphant coach Gary Kirsten who did not seek extension to his term with the Indian team.

Flower at the moment is on a rolling-staff contract which gives him the same protection rights as a full time employee of the Board. However, it is believed that the ECB will now offer him a fixed-term contract for about three years which will ensure that he stays with the side for a longer period.

It is believed that Flower expressed his frustration over the lengthy and hectic schedule of England during the winters of 2010. Nonetheless, Flower has been the most successful coach for the Poms. During his tenure, England lifted their first ever Twenty20 World Cup in 2010. They also won the 2010-11 Ashes series downunder convincingly by 3-1. It was a feat they had not managed for over two decades.

After looking at England’s performance right before the ICC World Cup 2011, the Poms were being considered favourites for the mega event. However, Strauss’s men failed to perform up to the expectations of the fans as they failed to reach the semi-final of the mega event and were bundled out by Sri Lanka.

Even after the unimpressive performance in the mega event, the ECB is not ready to let Flower go. One of the reasons could be the fact that England faced numerous injury concerns during the tournament and Flower was not left with too many options.

Let’s see if Flower signs the contract with the England side when it is offered to him. For the time being,India will be looking to rope in the former Zimbabwe batsman to their ranks.

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England coach Andy Flower shortlisted for India coaching role

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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Michael Vaughan fears hectic schedule might make ECB lose coach Andy Flower

Former England captain Michael Vaughan fears that the extremely hectic international schedule may see England losing their coach, Andy Flower.
Vaughan himself retired from cricket after he used to remain away from home for long due to cricketing assignments.
England coach, Andy Flower, has also voiced similar concerns after they had to spend over three months Down Under.
Later many of the players headed to the Subcontinent for the ICC World Cup 2011. However, some of them returned home, as they had injuries and the rest of the team lost their momentum and returned back after their exit from the quarter-final of the tournament.
Flower has done wonders for the current England side. He helped them win two consecutive Ashes series, which included the 2010-11 one in Australia after 24 years. Flower also helped England break their ICC event jinx as he won the ICC Twenty20 championship with the side.
Former English skipper, Vaughan praised Flower for his non-stop efforts for the betterment of the team. He is of the view that Flower should be given rest and time as he could not spend time with his family due to the tight schedule of the England team.
He said that the coach of the team also works as hard as the players do, so he added that he is worried about Flower as he could not get time to rest.
Vaughan also said that it was important for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to keep Andy Flower fresh because he has been doing a great job with the team. He said that ECB could not afford to lose him to a hectic international schedule with the England team.
Commentator Vaughan also talked about Kevin Pietersen, who has been ruled out from the team due to hernia concerns. He said that the board should also give him one chance to return to his prolific form.
He stated, “He’s an amazing talent, but it’s clear that somewhere in the last year something hasn’t been right mentally with him – and he’s got some kind of distraction”.

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