"We'd lost 4 out of 5 games in Karachi and most people had written us off" : Andy Flower

[MenInG]

The Multan Sultans coach reflecting on his side's victory to win PSL 6:

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"I am very proud of our boys - they have performed sensationally. The best thing about winning this trophy is that we came back to winning this from nowhere. We'd lost 4 out of 5 games in Karachi and most people had written us off. But importantly, no one in our dressing room had written ourselves off!"

"So to comeback from that, and inch our way back up that table and get into the top 2 position which is important for getting oursevles in the final which we did that. Then the boys under pressure performed outstandingly well. The ball swung and moved around and bounced a bit in our innings, so you can see why Zalmi put us in to bat. And even with Shoaib Malik and Rutherford making a burst towards the last 3rd of their innings, our guys were under pressure and they dealt with it brilliantly"

"I am really proud of Mohammad Rizwan as the captain, and also Shan Masood who reacted like a true champion in the way he's carried himself after losing the captaincy at the end of the last PSL, and very proud for everyone involved"

"I would like to say something about Zalmi - I think they are very well lead and they have rich history of getting into playoffs and then into finals - this was their 4th final, and lead by 2 great guys in Mohammad Akram and Darren Sammy; I feel for them today but they were out there with smiles on their faces at the end of the game and they have done a great job with their team"

"We did talk about [at start of the Abu Dhabi leg] that we had little to lose by playing aggressive cricket. I have to say that our team make up is such that we don't have any all-rounders in the team other than Sohail Tanvir at 7, who played a couple of really important innings - so our batsmen had to do the job as there was no one backing them up in the lower order and they did it manfully"

"I could mention a lot of individuals here but Rizwan was sensational with the bat in Karachi. Sohaib Maqsood when he got a spot at 3 was obviously brilliant. He's fought his way back into the national squad so I am happy for him. He was sensational and came through under pressure and I hope he does the same in international games also"

"This surface in Abu Dhabi has provided a really fair challenge for batters and bowlers and we have seen some sensational cricket so, I hope Pakistan cricket is growing through everyone's exposure to PSL and I would like to say thanks to the PCB for re-arranging this at such short notice and putting such a great show on and allowing some of these players to fulfil their dreams which is wonderful for a personal basis for them and obviously great for us as a team - the PCB should look on this with great pride"

"I was talking to Imran Tahir just 10 minutes ago after the presentations and he was saying how much he enjoyed this tournament and how proud he was of winning this cup, and how much he has enjoyed this dressing room and I would echo all of that - I am very proud of all of our guys, old and young, the management and owners and it's just been a brilliant experience"

 

[Mamoon]

He is the best coach in the world. If Pakistan cannot rope him in in spite of the fact that he is right under their nose at this point, it will be their loss.

Babar the bottler should be relieved of captaincy duties and make Rizwan the all-format captain with Flower as coach.

Pakistan lacks talent and quality, but whatever pittance it has could be maximized with the above combination.

Babar is a weak man. He does not have strong character and his batting lacks impact. Let him accumulate runs without the burden of captaincy weighing him down.

Rizwan is a better cricketer than Babar and thrives under the pressure of captaincy and leadership.

The fact that Babar is okay with the fact that in spite of being the captain of Pakistan, he is not captaining a PSL franchise is beyond me.

It is ridiculous and exposes his meek personality.

 

[King_Kohli]

Good comeback.

 

[Shafi]

He is the best coach in the world. If Pakistan cannot rope him in in spite of the fact that he is right under their nose at this point, it will be their loss.

Babar the bottler should be relieved of captaincy duties and make Rizwan the all-format captain with Flower as coach.

Pakistan lacks talent and quality, but whatever pittance it has could be maximized with the above combination.

Babar is a weak man. He does not have strong character and his batting lacks impact. Let him accumulate runs without the burden of captaincy weighing him down.

Rizwan is a better cricketer than Babar and thrives under the pressure of captaincy and leadership.

The fact that Babar is okay with the fact that in spite of being the captain of Pakistan, he is not captaining a PSL franchise is beyond me.

It is ridiculous and exposes his meek personality.

Not possible, until IK is here. Misbah will torment us may be until 2027.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

He is the best coach in the world. If Pakistan cannot rope him in in spite of the fact that he is right under their nose at this point, it will be their loss.

Babar the bottler should be relieved of captaincy duties and make Rizwan the all-format captain with Flower as coach.

Pakistan lacks talent and quality, but whatever pittance it has could be maximized with the above combination.

Babar is a weak man. He does not have strong character and his batting lacks impact. Let him accumulate runs without the burden of captaincy weighing him down.

Rizwan is a better cricketer than Babar and thrives under the pressure of captaincy and leadership.

The fact that Babar is okay with the fact that in spite of being the captain of Pakistan, he is not captaining a PSL franchise is beyond me.

It is ridiculous and exposes his meek personality.

He is one of the best and someone whose methods would and should work on Pakistan team. He is good with making strategies and is good with utilizing data to improve the players individually and as a team. He is someone who knows how to build a team and has a very good eye for talent. Moreover, his disciplinarian approach is only going to help the reckless bunch of players we have in our team.
He isn't afraid to drop a big name and is very unperturbed by the media or the backlash.

Another good thing about him is he puts a lot of focus on preparation for a series or a tour in advance something we haven't done since Woolmer's era.

England from 2010-2013 were a well oiled engine working in unison, something he had built.

 

[hasanali]

Didn't Shoaib Akhtar say that he had agreed to replace Misbah? Was he just talking out of his you know what?

 

[Saj]

It would be great for PCB to get Flower involved in Pakistan cricket.

I know they've tried in the past without success.

 

[Bewal Express]

Andy F will become the flavour of the month and then a few poor results later, we will have the players telling us that they dont understand a Foreign coach. The fact is that we only have 2 decent bats in Babar and Riz and if either fails we cant put a score on the board. Our bowling is hit and miss, the experienced guys are mostly rubbish and the young bowlers, although a promising, are mostly miss in Foreign conditions. We did Ok in NZ without Babar and had he played, we may have pulled off a draw in the 2nd game. We beat SA and beat them well, and last year in England we should have won the 1st test and we had the edge in the 3rd in those conditions. We are doing OK with our resources we have.

 

[shaz619]

It would be great for PCB to get Flower involved in Pakistan cricket.

I know they've tried in the past without success.

When they tried in the past was that PCB not doing enough with their package or Flower simply not being interested ?

This is better then nothing though I guess, having a coach like Flower in the PSL is fantastic and all should make the most of it while they can.

 

[shaz619]

Andy F will become the flavour of the month and then a few poor results later, we will have the players telling us that they dont understand a Foreign coach. The fact is that we only have 2 decent bats in Babar and Riz and if either fails we cant put a score on the board. Our bowling is hit and miss, the experienced guys are mostly rubbish and the young bowlers, although a promising, are mostly miss in Foreign conditions. We did Ok in NZ without Babar and had he played, we may have pulled off a draw in the 2nd game. We beat SA and beat them well, and last year in England we should have won the 1st test and we had the edge in the 3rd in those conditions. We are doing OK with our resources we have.

That sentiment is the issue, problem is that these foreign coach’s which are hired, don’t really get a long rope. Under the ECB Flower got the backing one needs to succeed and also the freedom of expression, it helped that the man was around the team for a bit to, even for the resources and talent available in England the team has rarely seen as much success in Tests, a coach should be judged on where the team was when they signed on.

 

[hasanali]

Should have kept Mickey to be honest.

 

[shaz619]

Pakistan lack structure and discipline, Pak should do all they can to lure Flower, golden chance right now but I guess they will be backing Misbah for a while

 

[Shahzad1985]

Not possible, until IK is here. Misbah will torment us may be until 2027.

What has IK got to do with Misbah?

 

[silentkiller187]

Honestly if pak had any sense they would approach him now give him mushy and azhar and let him try and instill some discipline and change of culture within this team. It has been stripped back, this is the perfect time to initiate change.

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

Pakistan lack structure and discipline, Pak should do all they can to lure Flower, golden chance right now but I guess they will be backing Misbah for a while

Misbah only has a year left on his contract so I doubt that they will fire him now. If they do they'll have to pay him for nothing. In their hearts they know that we don't have that material to be top 4 in the world anyway.

Unless things get unstable in Pakistan and none foreigner is willing to travel to Pak, I don't see the PCB renewing Misbah's contract.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Do whatever needs to be done and rope him in.

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

Should have kept Mickey to be honest.

Mickey's test performances were a big concern.

But yea could have kept him till the T20 WC

 

[SangasCoverDrive]

I don't think he is much impressed by PCB and was even disappointed with the biobubble in Pakistan so its not as easy it looks.

 

[UzmanBeast]

I doubt he'll accept a coaching job with the PCB, but it's worth a try.

 

[ElRaja]

flowers methods wouldnt work with pakistan, hes an analytical disciplinarian, with the owners backing the players have no power to stand up to him if they wanna get paid.

with pak its a different matter, every tom dick and haroon tries to meddle in the national team, and senior players treat their spots as an entitlement.

also i dont think he'll want to move to pak full time. misbah gonna be pak coach for forseeable future.

 

[CricketingMinds]

He is the best coach in the world. If Pakistan cannot rope him in in spite of the fact that he is right under their nose at this point, it will be their loss.

Babar the bottler should be relieved of captaincy duties and make Rizwan the all-format captain with Flower as coach.

Pakistan lacks talent and quality, but whatever pittance it has could be maximized with the above combination.

Babar is a weak man. He does not have strong character and his batting lacks impact. Let him accumulate runs without the burden of captaincy weighing him down.

Rizwan is a better cricketer than Babar and thrives under the pressure of captaincy and leadership.

The fact that Babar is okay with the fact that in spite of being the captain of Pakistan, he is not captaining a PSL franchise is beyond me.

It is ridiculous and exposes his meek personality.

Wow. I can't believe I am saying this, but I agree with you! haha

 

[CricketingMinds]

It would be great for PCB to get Flower involved in Pakistan cricket.

I know they've tried in the past without success.

Do you know why the attempt was unsuccessful?

 

[The cricket enthusiast]

Do you know why the attempt was unsuccessful?

Must be unprofessionalism in the set up .
Most probably these coaches want's full control and their own team of coaching with them without any interference .
In PCB it could be too much to ask.

 

[hasanali]

He hasn't coached an international team for seven years and hasn't really been in the running for one either. Surely if we make him a fair offer and allow him to bring in his own coaching staff he'll at least be tempted. The thrill of elite sport at the highest level is a big motivator.

 

[cricketerB94]

PCB is not a cricket board that can attract good coaches especially after the last episode where a panel recommends to remove a coach and a person from that same panel replaces that coach. Where the board advertises for a coach, but it does not entertain any application because the person to take the job has already been decided. How can any professional individual take this board seriously?

 

[shujaatraza]

PCB is not a cricket board that can attract good coaches especially after the last episode where a panel recommends to remove a coach and a person from that same panel replaces that coach. Where the board advertises for a coach, but it does not entertain any application because the person to take the job has already been decided. How can any professional individual take this board seriously?

There are only 10 test playing nations and maybe only 4 professional boards so if you want to coach an international team then you pick whatever comes your way provided the pay is good. If Andy really wants to coach an international team then there aren’t many options. Thing is most coaches these days prefer franchises because you can coach 2-3 franchises in the year and probably make more money with less workload.

 

[Saj]

The break in the tournament worked well for them also and they made some sensible overseas picks, unlike some of the other franchises who opted for some strange selections.

 

[Justcrazy]

Andy Flower is a good pick for Pakistan but he needs to be given full control.

 

[cricketerB94]

There are only 10 test playing nations and maybe only 4 professional boards so if you want to coach an international team then you pick whatever comes your way provided the pay is good. If Andy really wants to coach an international team then there aren’t many options. Thing is most coaches these days prefer franchises because you can coach 2-3 franchises in the year and probably make more money with less workload.

Why would someone professional want to coach an international team which has a joke of recent record regarding coaches? Would you book an uber which has a lot of negative reviews? Every foreign coach in recent past have had issues with PCB, be it Mickey, Grant Flower or the fielding coach that we had in champions trophy, everyone gave negative reviews about PCB.

 

[Coolcapri]

He is the best coach in the world. If Pakistan cannot rope him in in spite of the fact that he is right under their nose at this point, it will be their loss.

Babar the bottler should be relieved of captaincy duties and make Rizwan the all-format captain with Flower as coach.

Pakistan lacks talent and quality, but whatever pittance it has could be maximized with the above combination.

Babar is a weak man. He does not have strong character and his batting lacks impact. Let him accumulate runs without the burden of captaincy weighing him down.

Rizwan is a better cricketer than Babar and thrives under the pressure of captaincy and leadership.

The fact that Babar is okay with the fact that in spite of being the captain of Pakistan, he is not captaining a PSL franchise is beyond me.

It is ridiculous and exposes his meek personality.

For once, i do agree with you on this.