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Brandon Moyo
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FORMER Chevrons skipper Andy Flower has been roped in by the Austrian cricket team as a consultant for the ongoing World Test Championship (Test World Cup) final against India at The Oval in London, England.

Familiar to English conditions, Flower brings in a lot of experience having coached England in the past and will be key in Australia’s quest of winning their maiden Test mace.

Andy Flower

He is also likely to join the Aussies in the latter stages of the Ashes which begin next week.
Australia’s red ball skipper, Pat Cummins said they are lucky to have someone like Flower on their side.

He will also be crucial in Australia’s bid of retaining the urn.
“He brings experience over here, first of all and knows these conditions really well. Hopefully, he knows the opposition, so if he can give us one little bit of insight into playing in England that we haven’t thought about then it’s worth it.

“I think Andrew (Australia coach) has worked with him quite a bit, and you’ve seen us over the years bring in different people at different times. We’re pretty lucky to have someone as experienced as Andy,” said Cummins.

The World Test Championship had its first edition last year which was won by New Zealand and the tournament is in line with the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) goal of having one pinnacle tournament for each of the three formats of international cricket.

The World Test Championship runs for two years before the winner is decided. The next edition is set for the period 2023-2025 and the final will be played at Lord’s Cricket Ground, in London as well.

In the ongoing final where Australia have enlisted the services of Flower, the team looks in control of the match thanks to two brilliant centuries for Travis Head and Steve Smith.

The former Chevrons skipper, who is arguably Zimbabwe’s greatest cricketer, is a three-time Ashes winning coach with England and is a mastermind of getting things done in the world’s biggest Test series.

Andy Flower

Flower was at the helm of the English team from 2009 to 2014. He won the Ashes in his first year in charge and followed it up in the 2010-11 season and 2013 before stepping down in 2014 after a 5-0 defeat in the Ashes.

Apart from national teams, Flower has also managed franchise teams with some of the notable teams being Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and Indian Premier League (IPL) new boys, Multan Sultans.
– @brandon_malvin