Pre-Sri Lankan tour press conference with Andy Flower

by Pete C (Kiwireddevil) Sat 10 Mar 2012, 2:48 pm

It was with an easy manner and solid handshake that Andy Flower greeted the journalists at a press conference at Heathrow prior to England's two-test tour of Sri Lanka.

After doing a 10 minute TV conference that went out live on Sky Sports, with Channel 4 and BBC Radio also in attendance it was the turn of the print journalists.

Flower said that the Graham Gooch's 7 man tour advance party had settled in well in Sri Lanka, and were working hard; getting through two skills training sessions and at least one fitness session each day. He felt that fitness to deal with the heat and humidity were going to be significant factors in Sri Lanka, in particular for the bowling unit, and impacting on concentration levels in general. He felt that the early acclimatisation for that group had been worthwhile.

When asked if the conditions would dictate playing more bowlers than normal, Flower thought that if two specialist spinners played they could "take up a lot of the slack on the workload front allowing the seamers to operate as out and out attackers." The conditions "don't mean you have to play five bowlers."

Asked about Andrew Strauss's lack of test match runs over the past two or three years Flower referred to Strauss's experience and level-headedness, saying he was sure Strauss will be "working hard and smart to get his game in order to score heavily for England." He saw big first innings scores as very important for success in Sri Lanka, with runs from all of the top four important. Flower also felt that Strauss showed some improved performance at the end of the series versus Pakistan.

It is interesting to note that Flower commented that he "didn't agree with the description of form or the idea of form in a cricketing context" while avoiding commenting on whether Strauss was in form or not. Earlier he talked about confidence playing a very important role however.

Flower was then asked about planning and strategy for the test matches with Strauss given that Strauss was not part of the ODI squad. He said that "having three captains definitely is slightly more challenging on the communications front because you aren't constantly in touch with one player or one leader". Flower and Strauss talk a lot, and he did not think that preparations had been affected by lack of contact.

Moving on, Flower was very pleased with the turnaround in England's performances in the ODIs in the UAE. He was particularly happy with the superb batting form shown by Kevin Pietersen and Alistair Cook. Even though it is a different form of the game Flower felt that confidence would flow through into the test squad.

When asked what there was to be said in favour of two-test series, Flower's response was to laugh and say he "wouldn't say a lot in favour of two-test series". It was unfortunate that it was not possible to fit three tests in between the Asia Cup (which Sri Lanka are playing in over the coming week or so). The ODI leg of the series is to be played at some point in the future.

Flower said that James Tredwell has been picked primarily as backup for Graeme Swann, as off-spin was likely to be very important in Sri Lanka England didn't want to be caught out if Swann for example injured a finger the day before a match. Tredwell is seen as a reliable, experienced back-up option. Flower would not be drawn on whether off spin was more vaulable than left arm spin, though he acknowledged recent perceptions about the DRS system and left handed batsmen.

Similarly to Tredwell, Samit Patel provided cover for Monty Panesaar. Flower commented that "everyone in the squad is in contention for a test place." He also added that Samit Patel gave options to the side, saying that if England wanted to play three quicks Patel could bat at number six and provide that [left-armer's] angle bowling into the rough. Asked about Patel's fitness issues Flower said that Patel "still significant work to do on that front" but he is "inching in the right direction".

Flower was asked whether he felt it was wise for Eoin Morgan to be playing 20:20 cricket in the Indian Premier League, missing five County Championship matches for Middlesex while he is under pressure to regain his test place. He responded pointing out that Morgan had signed a 3 year IPL contract, and that the ECB had given an NOC, so Morgan was contractually committed to the IPL.

Flower said that ideally first class cricket was the best place to learn a lot about the game and yourself. He also said that the structure of the game had changed since the IPL was introduced, and there were no easy answers. He wants "Eoin Morgan and all of our players to fulfill their dreams as players. There is this balance between fulfilling your playing dreams but there is also the lure of the IPL and the cash involved". He didn't condemn players for going to the IPL, as he might have done the same given the option, at the expense of playing first class cricket and improving your chances of a test berth.

Asked whether the batsmen were more confident facing a team that did not contain Saeed Ajmal Flower said "I haven't thought about Ajmal at all with regards the Sri Lankan series. The good thing about playing people like Ajmal is, as you get exposed to them you should get better. You know that's how we grow, by challenging ourselves, by putting ourselves in tougher situations than we normally come across." He felt that having played good spinners in sub-continental conditions would add to the batsmen's growth so he expected them to be better for the experience.

England play a three-day game against a Sri Lanka Board XI starting on March 15, and then meet a Sri Lanka Cricket Development XI on March 20, also a three-day affair. The first Test starts in Galle on March 26, and the second Test at the PSS in Colombo is scheduled for April 3.