Andy Flower, though appointed as assistant coach under Peter Moores, will now assume reins of a coach in what would essentially be a caketaker’s role. As the team arrives in St. Kitts, Flower opens up about the acrimony, the disharmony and the challenges ahead of him.
Excerpts from his interviews before leaving England;
On matters with regards to Kevin;
“Yes, it was the case that Kevin wanted me to go, too … From what I understand he wanted a regime change.”
On Kevin the person:
we’ve always had a good, honest relationship, maybe because of the southern African connection, and I don’t see any problems. We’ve had a good chat and even though I didn’t go into the specifics of why he wanted change, we are both absolutely fine.
We all have our differences and you’re not always going to be buddy buddy with people. Kev and I have disagreed over things, like I have with a lot of the guys when we’re debating cricket. It’s healthy when you try to help people improve.
Relations between coaches and players;
You don’t always have to get on perfectly and we have our differences of opinion as I do with many players. The coach-player relationship I have with KP is fine. KP is a world-class player, so it’s not a case of telling players like him what to do – it’s more about discussing options. So it’s always the player’s right to take his own option
On his interim role:
“I’m not sure, we’ll play it by ear a little,” he said. “I had a good think about it [being head coach] and decided that I wanted to do this role on tour. “It is unlikely that they will continue [without a head coach] after the West Indies,” he said. “But the debate over the exact structure and how it works is interesting. As long as you get the right people in, you can have various structures that might work. I think there is a balance coaches always need to find, between what a player wants and what he needs. Straussy wants coaches to play a more supportive role and I’m happy supporting him in that role.”
On what transpired:
“It took me by surprise, the severity and the speed at which it happened,” he said. “It was sad for everyone. The whole affair was bad for everyone involved. I’m pretty sure it could have been avoided too I’m pretty sure that you can avoid what happened in the past couple of months.”
Andrew Strauss gives Kevin Personal Responsibility
Strauss Fights off IPL Dilemma and England Allegiance
Andrew John Strauss– The Captain with a wee bit too much on his Platter
Flintoff - Unapologetic about Not Supporting KP; Trains Gun on Strauss
Why Pietersen lost his captaincy battle and Moores his coaching post
Tony Greig Feels for Suffering Pietersen
We Were Odd Couple, Admits Kevin Pietersen
Be Careful Of Dressing Room Divisions– Strauss Warned
“ECB Buffoons in Blazers” Declares Ian Botham
Kevin Pieterson in Strauss’s Good Books but not in Nasser’s
Warne calls KP’s Coach Call a Bluff!
