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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Ali Martin

Flower power: can England tempt head coach back with an already flawed setup?

Andy Flower England Brendon McCullum Andrew Flintoff Ben Stokes Test Joe Root Lions Cricket IPL
Andy Flower hits a ball in practice
Andy Flower during his successful spell as England’s Test head coach from 2009-2014 when he won three successive Ashes series. Photograph: Philip Brown / Reuters/Reuters

That Andy Flower emerged as the favourite to take over England’s Test team so soon after Brendon McCullum’s demotion should come as no surprise. Put simply, the Zimbabwean is the leading active head coach on the circuit.

During his first spell in the job from 2009 to 2014, England won three successive Ashes series, ended a 27-year wait to win a Test series in India, and rose to No 1 in the Test rankings. The men’s white-ball team also broke its duck in global tournaments by lifting the World T20 in the Caribbean in 2010. Flower has since carved out a successful second career. In franchise cricket, his teams have won the Pakistan Super League, the Hundred, the ILT20, and the Indian Premier League (twice). When Australia broke India’s hearts by securing the 2023 World Cup, Flower was in their camp as a batting consultant.

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