Futures tense for England's main men
England coach Andy Flower will be closing in on a year in the job, from the time he took temporary charge during their tour of West Indies
Judhajit
25-Feb-2013
England coach Andy Flower will be closing in on a year in the job, from the time he took temporary charge during their tour of West Indies. However, Mike Selvey in his blog on the Guardian website believes the much-admired Flower has his work cut out if he is to last five years in the role.
Somewhere, something has to give if the ECB is to get full value from Flower over an extended period. And the answer has to be delegation. At present he might consider himself too new to trust anyone else to take on his role. But over a period of time, as he gets even more confident, he might be able to let go and recharge secure in the knowledge that things will tick over fine.
On the same website, Rob Bagchi believes memories of the rebel tours of South Africa 20 years ago should not be allowed to fade.
A rough passage also awaits Kevin Pietersen over the next few days in South Africa, and Mike Atherton in the Times says the nature of his response will reveal the direction his game will take in the coming years.
How far does quiet anonymity suit his game? It was a game that, previously, was based on self-glorification, the “look at me aren’t I brilliant?” attitude that culminated in the kind of wondrous strokeplay that, this observer at least, had rarely seen. Pietersen is not Ian Bell, nor should he try to be. Somehow over the next five days, the Brylcreem Boy has got to find his inner skunk.