Andy Flower: Strauss Was Instrumental

England Team Director Andy Flower has said that England Captain Andrew Strauss was instrumental in leading the team that retained the Ashes in Australia and rounded off nicely with a series win, beating Australia in the Fifth test by an innings and 83 runs.

The England camp celebrated after succeeding in a first series win in Australian for some 24 final Test at the SCG on Friday.

"I'd rather talk about the cricket, but the celebrations were good, and well deserved by the players," Flower said.

"We had a good time and I think the guys are reflecting on a job well done and a job that they are very proud of.

"All sorts of things go into what makes successful sides and Strauss' leadership is very influential factor in that success.

"He is very strong in the dressing room and in the middle with bat or marshalling the troops.

"He's grown in stature in this series, and considering the high position he started, that's saying a lot about him."

Speaking on Alastair Cook, Flower said; "He's overcome most challenges that have been put in front of him, which is testament to that strength of character and, considering that people were calling for his head not so long ago, it is an outstanding riposte.

"Although that's not why he did it, it was because of the pride he has in his own performance and because he is very proud to play for England.

"I am very happy for him personally, and we're all thankful that he made those contributions to the team for us."

Andy Flower Ponders Changes

England cricket coach Andy Flower has suggested that he may make some changes to his bowling line-up when they play their fourth Test in Melbourne. England slumped to a heavy 267-run defeat as they struggled to break down the Aussies in the Third Test.

Australia’s fast bowlers dominated in Perth and it is thought that Flower may turn to Tim Bresnan or Ajmal Shahzad. Both have yet to feature so far this tour with Chris Tremlett deputising for the injured Stuart Broad

"A five-Test series is hard on everyone, both physically and emotionally. For the fast bowlers even more so, I would say," Flower said. "We've got a few days now to reassess prior to Melbourne and the bottom line is we'll pick the XI that we think will have the best chance of winning in Melbourne.

"The workload on our bowlers is heavy. In the absence of a quality all-rounder we're sticking with our four-bowler attack and we've shown over the last 18 months that it's served us well."

Andy Flower is considering promoting Ian Bell up the order after Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood have failed to deliver in the middle order.

"We are always looking at ways to improve our side," Flower said. "Ian Bell looks in very good form, he's very confident and he's played beautifully throughout this tour.

"Jiggling with batting orders and personnel is always an option but you also have to be careful about altering a side that's been very successful over the last 18 months."