Grant Flower gets a surprising call after more than six years
The 39-year-old batsman, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 next
month.
Flower, who had been coaching http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Essex-c783 Eagles for the last six seasons, returned home in August to join the national team of Zimbabwe as its batting coach. Besides his role with the national team, Flower was also appointed as the
player coach of the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mashonaland-Eagles-c814, a domestic franchise of Zimbabwe.
Grant Flower, in his first spell with the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 at Harare. His last appearance for Zimbabwe also came at
the same Harare ground on http://www.senore.com/Cricket/March-c74391 14, 2004 but this time the opposition were the Bengali tigers and not the men in blue.
During his 12 years stint with the national side, Flower played 67 Test matches compiling 3457 runs at an average of 29.54 including six centuries and 15 half centuries with a highest of 201 not out. He played 219 One Day Internationals
during his first spell with the Zimbabwe side and 6536 runs including six hundreds and 40 fifties at an average of 33.69. Flower’s top score in ODI’s is 142 not out. He was a left arm spinner and claimed 25 Test and 104 one-day wickets with a Test-best of
4 for 47 while his best bowling figures in ODI’s were 4 for 32.
In 2004, Flower became one of the veteran players to leave the side in an exodus afte removal of Heath Streak from the captaincy role.
Talking to the media reporters, Flower opined that international cricket is totally different from county cricket as the former has its own kind of pressure. Flower told he had a remarkable season with the Eagles.
"It is a different pressure," Flower told the reporters. "I just had a good season with Essex, playing some of my best one-day cricket with them, but international cricket is a step up."
Essex lost its division one status this season after finishing last on the points table with 126 points only and has been relegated to the second division of the County Championship for the next season. Despite below par performance
in the County Championship, it was Flower's pivotal tally of 527 one-day runs at an average of 65.87 that helped the club to reach the semi-final of the 2010 Clydesdale Bank 40 competition.
The 39 years old all-rounder admitted that the dual role of batting coach and player would make his position in the team quite complicated. He further added that the dual role can lead to a conflict of interests
as his performance as a player is more likely to affect his coaching role. "There can be a conflict of interests with my role as the batting coach if I can't turn things around as a player," Flower said. "It can be awkward if I don't. If it works, however,
it can come out in positive fashion."
Zimbabwe's three One Day Internationals and two T20’s against South Africa are their only confirmed international assignments ahead of the next year’s ICC World Cup that will be jointly hosted by three sub
continent countries including India, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758.
Grant Flower is the most recent of several high-profile cricketers who have joined Zimbabwe cricket this season. Pacer Jason Gillespie and Allan Donald have taken roles as domestic coaches while Chris Harris,
former http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 all-rounder, has been put in charge of the U19 team of Zimbabwe.
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