No. It’s not Batman. It’s everyone’s favourite technical director of elite coaching, Mr Andy Flower. Oh, hang on a sec, to ‘come back’ necessitates actually going away in the first place … which Flower didn’t. Yesterday’s breaking news that Flower will lead the England Lions in their upcoming triangular series against New Zealand A and Sri Lanka A is rather interesting to say the least. When Flower stepped down as England head coach after the Ashes disaster – when it was apparent to...
The Three Stooges – A Headingley Autopsy
It’s tempting to just blame Cook. He’s an easy target. Few people seem to like him. He’s going through another one of his batting malaises (they’ve happened before and they’ll happen again) and his captaincy yesterday was lamentable. However, let’s not forget that Cook’s captaincy is simply a product of the Andy Flower era. Under Flower’s iron fist, England became utterly dependent on stats and pre-determined methodologies. Plans were determined before games and Flower’s captains stuck...
Moores of the Same? England’s final XI will be telling
The first test match of the English summer starts on Thursday. Anticipation is in the air. The Lord’s groundstaff are making their final preparations, the MCC staff are polishing their champagne glasses, and somewhere underneath the stands Alastair Cook is hurried cramming Mike Brearley’s The Art of Captaincy (or at least I hope he is). As a fan I’m eagerly awaiting the announcement of the England XI. Picking the right squad (or what was the right squad in my eyes) was only half the job. The...
Kevin Pietersen And The ECB – Inside The Turtle Tank
I recall attending a conference a few years back when the guest speaker opened with an old joke – “Asked how many people worked in his organisation, a CEO replied “about half of them.” The conference was about motivation and engagement in the workplace, and Paul Downton’s interventions on the subject during the unveiling of Peter Moores as the England cricket head coach struck me as something that deserved a second look. Downton said there were no specific issues surrounding the ECB’s...
Meet the New Boss
It’s no secret that we’re not too impressed with the appointment of Peter Moores here at TFT. However, because you’re likely to hear a lot more gnashing of teeth in the coming days, it’s only fair we give you another perspective. Although the hashtag #ECBclowns has trended prominently in decent days, there are a lot of people who support this appointment. Long-time reader, Neil Harris, is one of them, and he makes his case very eloquently. Over to you Neil … Meet...
Why Gilo is a no-no
So Andy Flower is off after all. I can’t say I’m surprised. You can’t oversee the most inept tour in England’s recent history without paying a price. Flower was a first class England coach, but when you’re lecturing people about the need for change, and advocating a new era, it’s kind of hard for the old headmaster to stay in situ. Perhaps Andy, analytical as he is, realised that staying on contradicted his own message. Having said that, I wouldn’t be surprised if Flower was privately pushed...
