McGrath tells Australia to go for Flower
ENGLAND’S former Ashes tormentor Glenn McGrath has encouraged Cricket Australia to pursue the possibility of poaching Andy Flower from the ECB in the wake of Tim Nielsen’s resignation yesterday.
Flower, who signed a new contract in May amid rumoured interest from India, has masterminded Australia’s downfall in consecutive Ashes series, led England to No1 in the Test rankings and secured a first ever ICC limited overs title in the Caribbean last year.
Nielsen, who presided over 15 Test series over the course of the last four years, stood down following the conclusion of the drawn third Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, which saw the Baggy Greens secure a 1-0 victory.
McGrath accepts employing a foreign coach for the first time would represent a bold move that might not be greeted with universal approval in Australia, but agrees that Flower’s credentials mark him out as the outstanding candidate to fill the vacant position.
“If they look for a coach from somewhere else around the world I’m not sure how that would be received back home,” McGrath told City PM yesterday at an event organised by the Lord’s Taverners. “You’d have to see what Andy wants to do but he’s obviously had a lot of success with England and as someone who played against him I can certainly categorically say he’d have the instant respect of all the current players and ex-players alike.
“He’s pretty much done everything he can with England so maybe a new challenge would suit him. He might not be an Australian, but he certainly embodies the way we like to play our cricket.
“If you’ve got your family settled somewhere it’s always a huge decision to move somewhere else but it’s a challenge I could see him being excited by for sure.”