Flower: We must combat spin

Andy Flower
12 April 2012

England plumbed new depths in their one-day international whitewash in India - but Andy Flower is hoping the exposure of evident limitations can kickstart necessary self-improvement.

The England coach likened Tuesday's hapless collapse, almost entirely to spin, of all 10 wickets for 47 runs at Eden Gardens, to an early low point in his tenure back in February 2009. During Flower's first match in charge as interim coach England were skittled for 51 at Sabina Park, Jamaica, to lose by an innings on the way to a 1-0 Test series defeat in the West Indies.

Flower looked back on this month's series and said: "We have to change the traditional limitations against spin and certainly by the time we come out here in 14 months' time to play another limited-overs series we have to look at it very differently."

Flower's reign could hardly have started more inauspiciously with the Sabina Park debacle; yet within six months England had won the Ashes and begun an upward graph which would see them clinch the urn down under for the first time in almost a quarter-of-a-century and become the world's top Test team.

They also prevailed in an International Cricket Council event for the first time, on their return to the Caribbean for the 2010 World Twenty20.

Sadly, there has been no such period of consistent ODI achievement.

Even so, it has been a shock to the system that Alastair Cook's young team have failed so miserably in India to consolidate last month's NatWest Series home superiority against the same opponents.

Flower, however, is hoping this chastening reality check may bring with it the 'Jamaica effect'.

He said: "If we can use this as a catalyst for that sort of change then some good can come of it.

"I was unfortunately reflecting last night on a similar feeling after being 51 all out in Jamaica two-and-a-half years ago. If we can use it to start something better in our subcontinent limited-overs batting then some good can come of this."

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