Feast and Famine- Andy Flower as England Coach.

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Feast and Famine- Andy Flower as England Coach.

Postby Arthur Crabtree » Sat May 24, 2014 6:40 pm

Andy Flower's time as England coach will be remembered as a distinctive era in the history of the England cricket team. There was a coming together and disintegration of a team of players. A story with a rise and a fall; the day spent toting a mace around the outfield at the Oval eventually seeming to mock us for our pretensions, viewed from the scorched earth of the Ashes debacle. Most sporting eras end in defeat and recrimination. Flower's has ended that way, and though it is natural to concentrate on understanding and relieving the current trauma, it is unrealistic not to recognise the memory of some very good days.

In Spring 2009, when Flower took over from his boss and eventual successor, Peter Moores, the team was in a dismal place and the the achievements of Duncan Fletcher already seemed the memory of a golden age. England had lost to India, at home and away, to South Africa at home, and Sri Lanka away. Only some hard fought victories against West Indies and New Zealand allowed any respite from the lack of intensity and flair in the England side. Everything looked hard. The heroes of 2005 hung on for a while with injuries and unreliable form. Vaughan retired with a lame knee. Panesar and Sidebottom kept England from floating gently to the bottom of the rankings. The batting was carried by Pietersen. There was little there that suggested that England would be top ranked in just over two years.

And England started badly in West Indies, bowled out for 51 in Kingston, a defeat that they would use to entrench their future ambitions. A series of drab draws followed and England lost the series. Flower and Strauss appeared a cautious pair, delaying declarations on some admittedly flat tracks. It initially appeared that this was natural cautiousness from a side too used to losing. But that always remained their way. England at least took solace from a return to form from Strauss with the bat and an excellent series from Swann with the ball.

There was no expectation that at the end of the English summer, Flower and England would regain the Ashes. It was summer of attritional cricket, most fondly remembered for Anderson and Panesar's last stand draw in Cardiff. The best cricket was played by Australia, particularly when Mitch Johnson slaughtered the England batting in Leeds. For England, the series blazed into life in the final Test at the Oval, England settling the series 2-1 with a thrilling victory by 197 runs.

Ten great innings of the Flower era.

1. Jonathan Trott, 119 at the Oval v Australia, 2009.

A pragmatic and nerveless knock on debut stifled Australian hopes of a fightback and put the game way beyond their reach. Trott would become Flower's key batter in his two year surge to the top of the Test rankings.

Ten great bowling performances of the Flower era.

1. Stuart Broad, 5-37 at the Oval v Australia, 2009.

This was Broad's breakthrough in international cricket. On a good batting pitch he swung the ball both ways and extracted bounce from the surface. He cut Australia down from 73-1 to 111-7. It was the most exciting display of individual flair from the England team in the series.

Ten great wins of the Flower era.

1. The Oval against Australia, 2009.

Up until the final Test, England had been very hard to beat, but not all that exciting. The win at the Oval was something else. It was a portent that a genuinely good side was emerging, as well as a team that didn't give up. And we won't forget Flintoff running out Ricky Ponting. If it was touching to see Harmison and Freddie walk off as Ashes winners again, this win really belonged to the players that would define Flower's era, like Bell, Trott, Swann, Prior, captain Strauss et al.
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Re: Feast and Famine- Andy Flower as England Coach.

Postby Arthur Crabtree » Tue May 27, 2014 2:21 pm

The impression that England were a tougher more pragmatic team under Flower extended into the away series in South Africa. England came away with an unlikely draw there after saving two Tests with the last pair at the crease, Onions and Collingwood in Centurion and Onions and Swann in Cape Town. In between those games England won a stunning victory in Durban, set up by a valuable innings by Bell, and finished off by irrepressible bowling by Broad and Swann. As often with sides that play above themselves, when they lost, they collapsed badly, losing in Johannesburg by an innings. But the drawn series looks even better today than it did at the time, Collingwood and Bell were determined in the middle order, and Swann was again magnificent. England weren't yet a great side, but they were disciplined and effective.

England's improvements were noticed by the media, who started to hype the players for the first time since 2005. Collingwood was Brigadier Block in tribute to his heroics in Cardiff and Centurion. Anderson was the leader of the attack. They wrote about Bell's new maturity. England went into the series with Pakistan as firm favourites, and began to play more attacking and exciting cricket; the core of the team was approaching its peak. Under purple clouds all summer, with the special swinging Dukes, Jimmy Anderson was brilliant, notably at Trent Bridge. He took 23 wickets at 14. Swann could hardly get hold of the ball, but still took 22 wickets at 12! Against a brilliant Pakistan attack in bowling conditions, Trott and Prior made an impact in adversity that left behind a trail of superlatives.

The press dwelt on the struggles of hitherto golden boy Alastair Cook, but he finally posted a ton at the Oval. Buoyed by the 3-1 home win against Pakistan, England would not go into the winter tour to Australia as favourites, but with a settled team, and with confidence.

Ten great innings of the Flower era.

2. Ian Bell, 140 at Kingsmead v South Africa, 2009.

Bell started off a two year run glut with this match turning innings. He established himself a reliable run scorer at six, adding 277 runs with Collingwood and the tail. It became a signifier of England's strength that runs would be made down the order, here against a brilliant South Africa pace attack on a pitch where they would be bowled out for 133.

Ten great wins of the Flower era.

2. Kingsmead against South Africa, 2009.

England were second favourites by a long way in this series. But in Durban they outclassed a superb South Africa team. And they established a pattern that would become familiar over the next 18 months. Anderson and Broad took new ball wickets to leave South Africa 10-2 on the first morning. And then England batted once and batted big, first through Cook and Collingwood, and then Bell, Prior and the tail. The most thrilling passage though was on the fourth evening when Broad and Swann (nine in the match) wiped out the South African second innings, leaving them 76-6 at the close, 133 all out the next day.
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Re: Feast and Famine- Andy Flower as England Coach.

Postby Arthur Crabtree » Tue May 27, 2014 2:29 pm

I've got some innings/bowling performances to add from the Pakistan games, but I've got a physio appointment now, so I'll add them later.
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Re: Feast and Famine- Andy Flower as England Coach.

Postby Arthur Crabtree » Tue May 27, 2014 7:58 pm

Ten great innings of the Flower era.

3. Matt Prior, 102* at Trent Bridge v Pakistan, 2010.

This innings was typical of the impact Matt Prior had so often on the England innings, and the momentum he gave them going into the field. From 72-5, and then 98-6, Prior turned the innings around through counter attack, England declaring on 262. This was in one of those Nottingham Tests where the seam and swing bowler is king, and Pakistan boasted Asif, Amir and Gul. Prior played a canny knock, only at the end blitzing the boundary boards.

4. Jonathan Trott, 184 at Lord's v Pakistan, 2010.
5. Stuart Broad, 169 at Lord's v Pakistan, 2010.

Apart from some late hitting from Umar Akmal in the fourth innings, with the game hopelessly gone, no one else scored a run in the game. Seam was utterly dominant. Saeed Ajmal had been added since Trent Bridge, and the ball was turning too. It was the best attack England faced in Flower's time. At one point, Amir had 4-0. Trott and Broad (with the highest score by an England number nine) added 332 in 96 overs. It was the most brilliant recovery from a collapse I've seen from an England pair, and good, classy, sensible cricket, with just a single six. All series, Trott had looked serene where his colleagues had struggled. For Broad, it was once in a lifetime. It was epic sport and a Test record for the eighth wicket.
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Re: Feast and Famine- Andy Flower as England Coach.

Postby SaintPowelly » Tue May 27, 2014 8:04 pm

You consider Trott and Broads innings great ??

A series that was riddled with fixing and conveniently England went from 102-7 to 434-8, the whole series should be expunged from the record books.
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Re: Feast and Famine- Andy Flower as England Coach.

Postby Arthur Crabtree » Tue May 27, 2014 8:10 pm

No evidence that match fixing went on. No suspicion of it either. Pakistan were hopeless at the end of that partnership, but they were red hot at the start of it. We've discussed this before, we're just going to have to agree to differ. There was some incredible cricket played in that series. Of course the spot fixing was a disgrace.
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Re: Feast and Famine- Andy Flower as England Coach.

Postby D/L » Wed May 28, 2014 12:46 pm

SaintPowelly wrote:You consider Trott and Broads innings great ??

A series that was riddled with fixing and conveniently England went from 102-7 to 434-8, the whole series should be expunged from the record books.

Yes, in the circumstances, Broad's innings should be disregarded and, when his career is over and that is still his highest score, as every indicator would suggest it will be, there should be an asterisk placed against it.
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Re: Feast and Famine- Andy Flower as England Coach.

Postby D/L » Wed May 28, 2014 1:33 pm

I think the descriptions of some of Prior's innings here rather exaggerate their quality.

As an attacking batsman, his approach is sometimes needed. At times when it wasn't, he has contributed to the "famine", as has his keeping.
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Re: Feast and Famine- Andy Flower as England Coach.

Postby pompeymeowth » Wed May 28, 2014 3:57 pm

I can only see one Matt Prior innings here, have others been removed? That 102 was a great knock. I totally agree he has played badly on occasions, D/L, but thats not the issue here. Arthur is describing what he considers to be a list of great moments for England under Flower.
Not yet another Prior-bash-athon.
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Re: Feast and Famine- Andy Flower as England Coach.

Postby Arthur Crabtree » Wed May 28, 2014 4:01 pm

Yes, just the best knocks from my point of view. I found it easier to pick bowling performances actually, because the good innings have dried up over the past two years, whereas the bowlers have kept on doing a reasonable job. In general. I've picked contributions that have allowed my to make wider points, like lower order resistance for instance, or increased momentum at the end of the innings.
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Re: Feast and Famine- Andy Flower as England Coach.

Postby D/L » Wed May 28, 2014 4:25 pm

pompeymeowth wrote:I can only see one Matt Prior innings here, have others been removed? That 102 was a great knock. I totally agree he has played badly on occasions, D/L, but thats not the issue here. Arthur is describing what he considers to be a list of great moments for England under Flower.
Not yet another Prior-bash-athon.

I counted at least two and a reference to his having performed well on a number of occasions.
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Re: Feast and Famine- Andy Flower as England Coach.

Postby pompeymeowth » Wed May 28, 2014 4:30 pm

Cheers Arthur I'm enjoying it anyway. I guess D / L could do the same list but the worst of the time under Flower. No prizes for working out which players would feature heavily on that list!
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Re: Feast and Famine- Andy Flower as England Coach.

Postby pompeymeowth » Wed May 28, 2014 4:36 pm

10 great innings by England under Flower.
1 Trott
2 Bell
3 Prior
4 Trott
5 Broad

I can't see anmore on the list?
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Re: Feast and Famine- Andy Flower as England Coach.

Postby Arthur Crabtree » Wed May 28, 2014 4:39 pm

Well, it's going to get worse, though the best bit is next. A few Prior innings would be decent candidates, unfortunately, none since the NZ tour.
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Re: Feast and Famine- Andy Flower as England Coach.

Postby pompeymeowth » Wed May 28, 2014 4:55 pm

Sorry Arthur I meant I couldn't see any more Innings by Prior in your list as I don't know what D/L was referring to.
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