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Andy Flower has carried out all of it—a batting nice, a stellar wicket-keeper, a celebrated captain—the former Zimbabwe cricketer has additionally helped England win two Ashes as coach and made them the T20 world champions in 2010.
As a batsman, he was forward of his time, using the reverse sweep towards spin on Indian tracks to perfection. Now, Flower brings his expertise and acumen as a coach in T20 leagues round the world. Currently in the Caribbean as the head coach of St Lucia Zouks in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), his subsequent task can be to assist Kings XI Punjab navigate the IPL in UAE as assistant coach.
In this electronic mail interview, Flower discusses the nuances of teaching in T20s. Edited excerpts:
Is T20 teaching extra tactical than technical?
Without doubt it is angled in direction of not solely staff teaching, however in direction of getting tactically as correct as attainable. Hitting approach, innovation approach, these are the issues that you’ll work with gamers on. The thrust of your teaching can be round the principal techniques of the recreation, guaranteeing bringing collectively of your evaluation, data; deciphering the information as precisely and correctly as attainable, and guaranteeing that the gamers are understating the techniques that you just and the captain would love them to make use of. And then, additionally permitting them the house and freedom to precise their expertise as a lot as attainable.
How a lot has T20 cricket modified the recreation?
It has pushed innovation in the recreation. As the requirements of the recreation have risen, batsmen have discovered the necessity of discovering methods to maintain the scoring fee as excessive as attainable. For bowlers, it’s to seek out methods to limit the batsmen. So, now we have seen some good improvements like reverse sweep, scoops, other ways of discovering gaps and bounds. The bowlers are getting higher at delivering yorkers in addition to differing kinds of slower balls. These improvements filter into different codecs of the recreation. So, it’s good for cricket to witness this. I count on T10 turning into extra outstanding over the subsequent decade, and I see the recreation progressing.
Some massive teaching names have discovered this format troublesome. How are you approaching your CPL stint and the upcoming IPL?
I’ve had three principal experiences in T20 franchise cricket. The first was with Peshawar Zalmi in PSL, four-five years in the past, the place I used to be the assistant coach to Mohammed Akram. In the newest PSL, I used to be head coach at Multan Sultans. I believe the recreation has moved on in a quantity of methods. Certainly the manner evaluation is used and valued now. I believe some of the evaluation is serving to coaches and captains perceive the recreation in a barely totally different manner. It’s a wholesome factor. It can be a component of the recreation, innovating and growing.
Is teaching totally different in worldwide cricket and T20 franchise cricket?
It is very totally different. (In worldwide cricket) you’re looking at progressive enchancment. You are engaged on abilities, physicality, understanding of the recreation; their understanding of themselves as gamers. You are in search of development and growth in medium to long run.
In franchise cricket, it’s extra managing a bunch of gamers than maybe teaching them; making them really feel assured and prepared for on-the-spot determination making that is turning into faster and faster, and extra mandatory as the recreation quickens.
How would you’re employed with a participant having difficulties adjusting to totally different codecs?
I might help him in getting readability about the place his private issues are, and the way he desires to strategy every format of the recreation. Self-awareness is one of the key points to having the ability to carry out at the elite degree—understanding your self, and the way you reply to totally different conditions and understanding the way you create strain as a bowler, or the way you stability risk-reward as a batsman. I believe most gamers are fairly adept at it today, with the main change being that the batsmen are studying to hit the ball and be aggressive in the first step of their growth today. Earlier, defensive approach would have been the first factor that they might have learnt.
Do gamers generally wrestle with the strain of their price ticket in franchise cricket?
I believe there are all types of pressures that come at an elite sportsman’s manner at sure occasions throughout their careers. One of the psychological and emotional abilities is to have the ability to take care of all these distractions and simplify the process that you’ve got if you find yourself competing. Price-tag strain is one distraction, however there are myriad different distractions that might come your manner; distractions of expectations from coaches, or selectors, or house owners, or your fellow gamers, or household, or the opposition. So all these might all derail your thought course of, and take you away from the very easiest of issues, which is actually what you have to be attempting to do as a competitor—breaking down what are the essential ideas that you really want at the essential moments, and coaching your thoughts to have the ability to assume that manner.
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