England Cricket / Paul Moon / 02 May 2009 / Leave a comment

Paul Moon is warming to Andy Flower and admits to being taken aback by the selections for the squad to face the West Indies. However, two of England's leading lights still give him cause for concern...

I was unsure about the appointment of Andy Flower as England cricket coach. Fudge and compromise without strategy had irritated me and regretfully this had tempered my enthusiasm and optimism for English cricket - but is there a wind of change?

Flower is beginning to impress. He is young enough to understand the modern game and has already shown a work ethic aligned to straight talking. The signs are that transparency and honesty are replacing mutual back scratching and nepotism.

Post-Fletcher we lived in cricket limbo where decisions were deferred. Proactivity was something that other countries did. If we were a paint colour on the tin we would be 'denial with a hint of reaction'. Opportunities were lost so I welcome the fact that Flower is eagerly working on strategies for the summer and I look forward to their implementation.

Every team should have a philosophy, an identity, a direction or a plan. They must have purpose, attitude and courage and I am now backing the new broom to restore fortunes.

Of course, there are real problems with this England team. I largely agree with my colleague's view especially where he comments that Andrew Strauss will be no match for Ricky Ponting and this will be cruelly exposed throughout the summer.

The last thing we need against the Aussies is someone who is nervous and hesitant. Kevin Pietersen, although inexperienced in the art of captaincy, would have brought a bolder approach and remains the only game in town!

I remain unconvinced that Flintoff can make a meaningful impact. He is not sound and I doubt he ever will be again in the future! Paradoxically, he remains the root of a problem and a key to English success but regurgitating the phrase talismanic and reminiscing about past glories will not win us the Ashes this year!

We should forget him as a world-class all-rounder and plan accordingly. Should he be fit, I would use him as a bowler and a slip fielder and bat him at number eight. The reasons are neither subterfuge nor denying his immense ability, just plain common sense. To pin the nation's hopes on him obscures the 'jobs to do' list.

The Aussies are currently showing a weakness against spin and Graeme Swann has now taken pole position as our spinner. Panesar has inexplicably declined to hone variation after a promising start to his career thus losing sympathy.

Swann has matured and I look forward to him bowling an aggressive line to the their right handers whilst using the rough bowling to the left handers.

Some intelligent opinion has suggested that both spinners might play at Lords against the Australians in July - now that would be interesting! When it comes to bowling the Aussies out the spin will be key!

The selection changes for the first Test against the West Indies appeared to break the cartel and took some by surprise. It remains to be seen what impact fast bowler Graham Onions and all-rounder Tim Bresnan have at international level. England [2.36] West Indies [6.0] Draw [2.34].

I feared that a single fifty against someone like Cambridge University would be enough to get 'favoured son' Michael Vaughan a recall. He would have to score a lot of runs to get back in my team! Rightly the scratchy Ian Bell has been dropped and we can look forward to Ravi Bopara fulfilling his potential.

Whilst we are not sure Bopara is a number three, he will bring a positive approach to proceedings and this summer's image of him batting with Pietersen once the shine is off the ball appeals to the senses.

Spare a thought for forgotten man Matthew Hoggard. Not sure what he has done wrong since that awful match in Hamilton, New Zealand. Things have been said since so the furious Hoggard doesn't expect an England recall. You cannot help feeling he has been despatched a year too early, especially in light of his stalwart efforts for England.

Betfair odds correctly reflect the enormity of the task in the Ashes series: England [3.4] Australia [1.76] Draw [6.4] and while we are not a finished team per se we might just be competitive in some areas. I still predict a 3-1 win to the Australians and the man of the series will be Mitchell Johnson.