Flower fulsome in praise for Cook

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Andy Flower, left, thought England captain Alastair Cook, right, "handled that pressure really well" in the victorious NatWest Series against Sri Lanka

England can move on to this summer’s sternest tests against world-beating India with collective confidence and reputation enhanced after victories over Sri Lanka in two of three formats, according to team director Andy Flower.

Most notable among the 'winners', having followed a 1-0 Test success with a 3-2 one-day international verdict, is clearly new 50-over captain Alastair Cook.

Flower ditched his natural understatement to voice effusive praise for Cook, who began his tenure under intense scrutiny from many high-profile and vociferous doubters of his ability to adapt his world-class Test match batting to the demands of ODI cricket.

Yet by the time England had closed out the series at Old Trafford with a 16-run victory in yesterday’s decider, Cook could point to 298 runs at an average of 74.50 and a strike rate of 96.75.

Those figures leave his erstwhile critics with little option but to revise their opinions, and, just as importantly, he demonstrated in a tight match in Manchester that he is not a one-paced captain either.

It was not by accident that his team withstood a Sri Lanka fightback to sneak home. Flower was impressed, and he cannot have been alone.

“It was a very good test,” he said of the NatWest Series, against opponents who had beaten England by 10 wickets in Colombo in this year’s World Cup quarter-final.

“They are a very good one-day side, World Cup finalists recently, and three of the five tracks weren’t ideal English conditions - so I think we’ve done very well to win.”

Cook proved once and for all he must never be underestimated.

As before last winter’s Ashes, in which he went on to break a string of batting records in England’s 3-1 series victory, pundits appeared to be queuing up to question the opener’s credentials.

Cook's batting "might not look as pretty as Mahela Jayawardene, but it’s been even more effective during this series", according to the team director

“He had some tricky decisions to make throughout the series, and he was under pressure from a number of quarters,” added Flower.

“I thought he handled that pressure really well, and made some really good decisions out there in this last match. He had to be very flexible, and he was.”

Flower has seen Cook rise to the challenge many times now, including when he deputised for Andrew Strauss in Bangladesh last year.

“We saw him handle pressure well there too, which isn’t an easy tour,” he said. “He grew there as a leader, and without doubt this series will have helped him grow too.

“[England consultant batting coach] Graham Gooch has worked very closely with him on his batting for a long time - because obviously one-day cricket is very different to Test cricket. I think he’s adapted well.

“It might not look as pretty as a (Mahela) Jayawardene, but it’s been even more effective during this series. He should feel very proud of his contribution with the bat, and how he’s handled some of the pressure he’s been under.”

Flower takes issue with any suggestion that promoting Cook to succeed Strauss was a risky proposition.

“We don’t think we’re gambling. We make decisions based on what we believe is best for English cricket,” he added.

The next step for Cook, of course, is to return to Test cricket - in which the four-match npower series against the world’s number one team begins at Lord’s on July 21.

He is one of several among the ODI winners who need to make the same occupational transition.

Since spinner Samit Patel, left, was preferred to Stuart Broad, right, yesterday, the seamer will play in Nottinghamshire's championship game this week

Some will do so in good heart, like the world’s new number one 50-over bowler Graeme Swann; others, such as Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell, had frustrating NatWest Series.

It is Stuart Broad, though, who has most to prove. Dropped for the final match to accommodate Samit Patel’s spin in favourable conditions, England’s Twenty20 captain was left out than newcomer Jade Dernbach - having taken only two wickets in the four previous fixtures.

He began the series nursing a minor heel injury. But neither Cook nor Flower pretended that a loss of wicket-taking form had not also entered the equation.

“He was left out of the side because we wanted to bring a spinner in, and we thought Dernbach would be more effective in these conditions,” said Flower, who nonetheless made it clear Broad remains central to England’s plans against India.

“A nice by-product of him missing this game is that he will have a four-day break from bowling between the fourth ODI and the four-day game he will play for Nottinghamshire, starting tomorrow.

“After that, he can have another four-day break to rest those niggles and then get into training for the Test match at Lord’s.

“Broad has been a superb performer for us, a great competitor - and I foresee him doing great things for us in the future, both in this upcoming Test series and the one-day series.”

Flower also predicts England “futures” for Dernbach and also Chris Woakes, who, like fellow seamer Steven Finn, was in the ODI squad but did not play against Sri Lanka.

Fast bowler Chris Tremlett was not in the squad, but will therefore be “fresh” to take on India and is expected to be a “very important man”.

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