Flower keen to get a fresh start

THE day after one of the most disappointing performances of his tenure, Andy Flower called time on the team he built.

Andy Flower says he is not demoralised by England's series defeat in Australia, rather he is 'very disappointed ...

THE day after one of the most disappointing performances of his tenure, Andy Flower called time on the team he has built, but not on his future with English cricket.

Emphasising that he has the drive, energy, determination and will to build a new team, Flower made his desire to stay on beyond Sydney absolutely clear. Such clarity was certainly required.

The ball, now, is in the England and Wales Cricket Board's court, although there is no suggestion that it is thinking of making a change. In Melbourne, Giles Clarke, the chairman of the ECB, reiterated his support and Paul Downton, the incoming managing director of England Cricket, will meet Flower in Sydney to plot the way forward. Although Downton would have the power to make a change, it is highly unlikely that his first decision would be to sack one of the most successful coaches England has had.

That the way forward is unlikely to include some old favourites is inevitable after Flower conceded the defeat in Melbourne felt like the end of an era. "Yes, it does feel that way a bit," he said. "I think this group of players have had some really good times.

"But we have seen Trott disappear at the start of the tour, Swann disappear after three Test matches and those have been two absolute stalwarts for us. Hopefully Trott comes back at some stage, we don't know about that, but with the passing of those two and some of the results on this tour, I think it is fair to say that post-Sydney the England management should view this as starting afresh."

Accepting that the ECB would be within its rights to make a change to the team director's position, in response to what could be a public backlash in the wake of a potential whitewash, Flower emphasised his determination to carry on. "It would be a really exciting challenge for me. I love exciting challenges," he said. "I would have the appetite to do that and I'd like to carry on. I am not demoralised, actually. I am very disappointed but I am very hungry to succeed, starting in Sydney."

Asked whether he still had confidence in his ability to do the job, Flower was adamant that he had.

"I still have confidence in my ability to lead the England team, but I do think that some things have to change because this is the ending of a certain era for this team and after Sydney it will be the start of some fresh cycle in some way," he said.

"We have had a lot of success over the years. Yes, in this series we haven't had any success really except for very small glimpses. I am sure in Sydney we will change one or two things. We have two opportunities to train and we'll make the most of those. I met the coaches this morning about doing those slightly differently.

"We ask our players to constantly look to improve and evolve, and certainly I ask our coaching team to do so, and when asking those questions of others I should absolutely be doing that myself. I'm always trying to learn about myself - how to be a better coach, better leader. So I investigate that through reading, personal study, talking to other leaders, other sports coaches."

There will be some alterations to personnel, with Michael Carberry and Tim Bresnan most likely to give way in Sydney. Although Flower emphasised support for the backroom staff, there may be changes with Graham Gooch, the batting coach, looking vulnerable.

Equally, Flower cautioned against kneejerk reactions in reminding everyone that his methods have largely been successful, with only three series defeats since the start of his tenure proper.

Flower bristled when asked whether his perceived "control freakery" would be softened. "I have read about that and I think it's 180 degrees inaccurate," he said. "If anything recently, I think I have relaxed a little in certain ways. I think I could bring more intensity and closer control on certain things."

While accepting that Alastair Cook had a poor tactical third morning in Melbourne, when Nathan Lyon and Brad Haddin added a further 40 runs, Flower was fully supportive of his captain. "Alastair is a strong young man," he said. "He's an excellent young man and he's also a young captain, so, like us all, he's still learning his trade - it's a tricky craft. He's done a good job so far. This is his sixth series as captain and the first one he has lost."

There is often a hysterical reaction when things go wrong to the extent that they have done here. There is a need for a scapegoat. Flower has not shied away from any responsibility, but he did strike a note of sanity when he said that part of sport was losing as well as winning. "We don't want people to accept losses too easily, but equally sometimes you have to face the facts that you've been outplayed. The Australian side has done exactly that to us," he said.

What seems curious is the assumption that Flower does not have the skill, the wherewithal or the knowledge to build a new team and bring the good times back. In fact, this bruising experience should make him a better coach, not worse, a better manager of men, not worse.

He has been, if not the best, then one of the best coaches that England has had and over the past few months he has added invaluable experience to an already excellent and varied tapestry.

It is possible to draw similarities with the situation Duncan Fletcher found himself in after the whitewash of 2006-07, and Fletcher was gone within a few months of that. Yet that would be wrong: the feeling at the end of 2006-07 was that Fletcher had lost control of the dressing room and was in a permanent funk with anyone from outside it.

Flower is younger, fitter and fresher. He is ready to take on a new challenge. He should be given that opportunity.

THE TIMES