IT was a telling sign of how frustrating yesterday had been for England's batting coach Andy Flower. Last man James Anderson, had pulled a ball to the fence and the Zimbabwean stalwart cheered as if they were the winning runs.
In fact, these were just four runs out of the mere 98 England managed at the Brabourne Stadium.
It was not the cheering for Anderson that gave away Flower's thoughts on England's hapless batting but it was his reaction to some of the dismissals that really showed how frustrated he was.
As soon as Ian Bell was out slashing to a wide Rajesh Verma delivery, Flower made his way to the TV news cameras on the second floor of the CCI clubhouse to see the replays. Later, when the match had seemingly slipped out of their hands, the England think-tank got together to talk. While head coach Peter Moores looked relaxed, Flower bore a sombre look throughout the hush-hush discussion.
It would have been a busy day in office for Flower. After all, nearly half the England side had fallen playing shots they should have left back in the dressing room.
But if Flower was all frustration, watching the match, skipper Kevin Pietersen brushed off any suggestions that this result mattered. "Today and what happened the other day doesn't really count on this tour. It's the internationals, which matter. We will come back hard on Friday."
If the charismatic batsman felt this result didn't matter, it didn't show in his reaction as wickets fell like nine pins. Pietersen often held his head as his batsmen departed. Perhaps, it mattered as long as a result was possible.
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England skipper Kevin Pietersen seems to be completely disappointed as his batsmen fall like nine pins against MCA XI at the Braboune Stadium yesterday. |
