Kaneria lauds England coach Andy Flower''s “great cricketing brain”

Islamabad, Sept 14: Pakistani leg spinner Danish Kaneria has paid tribute to his former Essex team mate and current England coach Andy Flower for his leadership and man management skills.
Kaneria noted the key role played by Flower in continuing success of England, which proudly sits at the top of the cricketing ladder after a one-sided series against India.
"Andy was a great man to have in the dressing room. He was the sort of guy that gave everyone confidence and a massive boost in the changing room. When things weren''t going well, Andy would rally the troops. He wasn''t one to rant and rave in the dressing room, rather he would be constructive and offer his opinions in a thoughtful and intellectual manner," PakPassion. net quoted Kaneria, as saying.
"When Andy spoke, everyone listened and his thoughts and ideas were always valued. It seems that he has continued that method as coach of England and it is paying dividends," he added.
Kaneria, who has spent several successful seasons at Essex, is not at all surprised that England, with Flower at the helm, is at the top of the test rankings.
"Andy is a very intelligent man. When I played alongside him at Essex, it was clear to me that he had a great cricketing brain and I knew he would make a very good coach. As a player, he would spot things that would make you sit up and take note and realise just what excellent knowledge of the game he had," Kaneria recalled.
"I knew that he would make a great coach and he''s doing a fantastic job with England. The best thing about Andy and why I realised he would make a good coach was that he listened, listened very carefully to every word that was spoken. He took on board everything that was discussed and would give everyone the opportunity to make their point," he added.
The 30-year-old spinner sent out a warning to the rest of the cricketing nations that it would be difficult to remove England, under Flower, from the top of the test rankings.
"Flower will ensure that everyone around him retains focus and keeps their mind very much on the cricket. He won''t let the guys around him relax and take it easy, Andy will ensure that the England players don''t get complacent and it''s going to be very difficult for any of the other teams to remove England from the number one spot in the test rankings," said Kaneria.