'Show them that you're comfortable in defence': Andy Flower on Bazball in India

The much-anticipated India-England Test series is set to kick off on January 25, with the first Test in Hyderabad.

This series serves as India's final international action before the players transition to the Indian Premier League (IPL), a crucial preparation phase for the upcoming T20 World Cup in June. Team India enters the series as favourites, benefitting from home conditions and boasting one of the strongest bowling attacks in the longest format of the game.

However, as is customary with tours to the subcontinent, much of the pre-series narrative revolves around the pitch conditions in India.

Indian pitches, renowned for their assistance to spin bowlers, have been a subject of critique from the English media over the years, often deemed overly favourable to the Indian spin attack. This ongoing debate has sparked a tussle of opinions, with Indian experts emphasizing that the home side is rightfully utilizing its conditions.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma had also weighed in on the discussion following India's victory against South Africa in the second Test earlier this month. After the Cape Town Test concluded within two days, Rohit acknowledged the challenge but urged against criticizing Indian pitches for supporting spin when similar conditions for pacers were accepted on the Cape Town surface.

Andy Flower, the former Zimbabwe captain who served as head coach for England between 2009-2014, spoke in great detail about the debates surrounding pitch conditions in India. In a chat with Hindustan Times on the sidelines of the International League T20 (ILT20), Flower stated that it is important for players to be ready for all surfaces. Flower was the head coach of the English team that had famously won the Test series in India in 2012.

"I think, as international players, we should be prepared for all sorts of conditions. That's one of the great things about this game. The conditions and the oppositions vary so greatly. We want variety. Otherwise, it would be boring to play the game," Flower told Hindustan Times.

"From a pitch preparation point of view, and almost from an ICC perspective, what we want to see is a good challenge between bat and ball. You don't want to see a pitch so flat that it's difficult to take wickets, and you don't want a pitch that's so bad that you can't score runs, and then it turns into a two-day match. The curator needs to find a balance where bowlers take the wickets, and the batters also have a chance to score Test hundreds. I don't know much about pitch preparations to offer advice on that front, but that should be the goal. Seam or spin that should be the goal," Flower said.

Will Bazball work?
Flower emphasized that while England should stick to the brand of cricket that has brought them considerable success over the past two years, it would be unwise to overlook the importance of developing defensive skills, particularly in challenging Indian conditions.

The seasoned coach, currently the head coach of Gulf Giants in the ILT20, acknowledged England's recent accomplishments in the longest format but stressed the need for a well-rounded approach that includes the ability to handle tough conditions effectively.

"It is going to be a fascinating contest to watch. I've enjoyed watching the cricket that England have played; it has been very exciting. I love attacking cricket like that. Will it work in India? I think, on the tracks in India, the first thing I'd say is that don't dismiss the Indian seamers and their attacking prowess. Because they are genuinely outstanding, it's not all about the spin contest," Flower said.

"At a default position, you want to be aggressive as a batter. You are out there to score runs and put the ball away. But there are elements to building an innings in India, where it is quite important to show the opposition that you are comfortable in defence. As soon as you become really predictable about how you want to attack them, they can come back. Showing a solid defence, method and comfort in defending… is quite a powerful message to send to the opposition batters. Whether the England batters will go about that way remains to be seen. But that would certainly be a part of how I would coach a youngster for a game in India," explained the Zimbabwean.

Flower further simplified with an example.

"The advantage to that is you can choose when to attack. If you have a poor defence, you are forced to attack all the time. It's like a sweep. It's a good tool to have in the box, but if the rest of your game isn't good enough and you have to use the sweep all the time, it's a problem. You have to develop your game and be unpredictable," said Flower.