Andy Flower gives England broad view of the task ahead against Australia

The team director reveals deep based philosophy as he calmly goes about building the right spirit for the Ashes campaign.
So I tell Andy Flower my Sir Alex Ferguson story: about how I found myself in the Manchester United changing room some years ago, minutes before the start of a critical fixture against Arsenal; about how the atmosphere was unbelievably relaxed - players playing cards, watching telly, that kind of thing; and about how Ferguson was nowhere to be seen.
When I asked Ferguson about his absence afterwards, he said that the preparations had been done days before and there was no need to be there because he had absolute faith in his team.
Flower likes the story because it chimes with his coaching philosophy, about which we are speaking to promote the Sky SportsECB Coach Education Programme. It is a philosophy centred on empowering players to make their own choices and raising their self-awareness. “The more trust you place in people, I believe the more they will repay you; the better you understand yourself, the better your chances of success as a player,” the England team director said.
Although he has never said it, I suspect Flower looks at his England team and sees a bunch of narrow-minded, overly cosseted cricketers. No one could accuse Flower of that, coming from Zimbabwe, seeing at first hand the disintegration of a country and becoming politicised inevitably because of it. He wouldn't wish that experience on anyone, but he does want to broaden the England players' minds and help them to grow as human beings.
“That was the most important aim of the trip to Flanders,” he said, reflecting on England's pre-Ashes bonding journey. “Sometimes as cricketers you get caught up in your own little world and don't enjoy a wide enough range of experiences. We wanted to reconnect with English history a little to help the players appreciate who they are and where they fit in. We've put a lot of effort into personal growth, leadership and development programmes, and Flanders was part of that. It was not Ashes-specific.”
Rather than bringing the team some welcome headlines, though, the trip turned into something of a PR disaster, with the news that one player forgot the only thing he had to remember - his passport - and that Andrew Flintoff was too hung-over to make the team bus on time. Andrew Strauss, attempting to defend the all-rounder, was sidetracked into admitting that team discipline is not what it should be, generally. How disappointed was Flower with the fallout?
“I know what we got out of it as a group, so we are very comfortable with that. It was a very worthwhile experience and sometimes a moving experience. I know that the perception is that it has been sullied in some way, but I'm happy with what we got from it. I'm obviously disappointed with the hullabaloo that followed because we don't want that of kind of publicity.
“In any team there are timekeeping issues because people aren't perfect. I wouldn't say we are outstandingly bad compared to other teams I've worked in. There are always issues that crop up. It is important we iron it out, though, because poor timekeeping and bad discipline are common denominators of poor teams. We also have a lot of mutual respect, cohesion and fun, which are common values to good teams.”
At this point, Flintoff is inevitably the elephant in the room. The all-rounder's ill discipline was fundamental to the slow strangulation of Duncan Fletcher's impressive stint as England head coach. How far does the knowledge of that put Flower in an awkward position now? “It doesn't, because every player starts with a clean slate and I'm not judging him on anything that went before,” he said. “He made a bad mistake but I'll tell you right now that I've made more mistakes than Andrew Flintoff. He apologised to the team and pledged his commitment to do things well for the rest of the summer. Obviously, we had to speak to him privately about it and he has been formally warned. But that is the end of the matter for us as a team. It might come up in the press again, but we can move on.”
But will he be prepared to drop a big-name player, no matter who it is, for a significant lapse of discipline during the Ashes? “It's a sensitive issue: I won't just say, ‘Yes, of course I would' just because that is what everyone wants to hear. What I will say is that this particular situation was not a big enough thing for me to drop Andrew Flintoff. No way was it a serious enough issue to do that, to finish someone's career. I'm very clear in my own mind about that.
“But if a difficult decision has to be made, we will make a difficult decision. But, you know, those are often not the most difficult decisions because if someone transgresses seriously enough in your judgment, it becomes a simple decision - you just do it because it is the right thing to do for the team. All the decisions we make are in the best interests of the England cricket team; there are no hidden agendas at all - it's simple.
“In the car this morning I was listening to Ronnie Irani on the radio. Now Ronnie is an old friend from Essex, but there were some things being said on that show about how Flintoff should be axed straight away and shouldn't take any part in the Ashes.
“It was utterly ridiculous. We're talking about the end of someone's England career and I'm not prepared to finish someone's career on that basis. It's just crazy talk.”
Flower is about to embark on the most high-profile two months of his cricketing life, but nothing in his career, either as a brilliant player for Zimbabwe or during his brief time as coach can compare to an Ashes series. Is it a fair question to ask why we should have faith in him? “It's certainly valid,” he said. “In fact, you could go further and say that playing for Zimbabwe means that I know little about winning in international cricket.
“But just because you haven't experienced a specific situation doesn't mean you can't add value. If you took that attitude you would never blood a young player, for example. When you break it down into its simplest version, it's about one team trying to beat another. Whether you call it the Ashes or not, that doesn't change.”
He has coached formally ever since his twenties and says that he has pinched the good bits from every coach he has worked with, and remembered some of the bad, too.
He admired the no-nonsense attitude of John Hampshire, the former Yorkshire and England player, who coached Zimbabwe, and his emphasis on keeping things simple and doing the basics well; there was the tactical and technical knowledge of Dave Houghton and the freedom and lack of scrutiny given to him by Carl Rackemann, both of whom also coached Zimbabwe; Graham Gooch's enthusiasm, love of the game and work ethic at Essex; and the way Peter Moores, the previous England head coach, challenged him and made every day a joyful one.
He has also met twice with John Buchanan, the former Australia coach, in the past month (“I've really enjoyed talking with him, throwing different ideas around”) to pick his brains about the Australians.
Faith in himself, then, with enough experience of his own and other coaches to draw on. But, to come back to the Ferguson story, how much faith does he have in his team? “We're some way from the Ferguson ideal, if I'm honest, because we're fifth in the world,” he said. “If we were close to it, then we would be closer to No1 in the world. Once we are in the position where the players are making good decisions for themselves, and making good decisions under pressure, then I assure you we will be where I want us to be.
“We have a good chance this summer and I believe we can win, but I'm not about to make predictions. We're not scared of favouritism, but I don't think we're favourites because they are the No 1-ranked team in the world. We have home advantage, though, and there are vulnerabilities in this Australian outfit that were not there before.
“They have lost a wealth of experience: Warne, Gilchrist, McGrath, Gillespie, Hayden and Langer. Any side losing those sorts of people is going to be weakened. Some of those guys were once-a-generation players,great characters on the field and in the dressing room. We certainly respect them still, but we don't fear them.”
How Andy Flower grew into the job
He was born in April 28, 1968, in Cape Town, South Africa
Played 63 Tests and 213 one-day internationals for Zimbabwe. Scored 4,794 Test runs at an average of 51.54, including 12 hundreds
A former world No 1 batsman, he is rated by the ICC as the 24th-best batsman in history
Captained Zimbabwe from 1993-96 and 1999-2000
Retired from international cricket after 2003 World Cup when he and Henry Olonga led a protest against “death of democracy” in Zimbabwe
Became England assistant coach in 2007 and took over as acting head coach after Peter Moores departed in January. Was made full-time team director at the start of this season
Source:The times