Flower aims for Pakistan batting consistency

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Pakistan's new batting coach, former Zimbabwe Test batsman Grant Flower, said he was looking forward to the challenge of trying to get Pakistan's top order into a consistently firing unit.

Pakistan's new batting coach, former Zimbabwe Test batsman Grant Flower, said he was looking forward to the challenge of trying to get Pakistan's top order into a consistently firing unit.

Flower was hired by the PCB recently after three years with Zimbabwe in the same role, and said that he had no concerns about fitting in with the side under new head coach Waqar Younis.

Flower told <i>PakPassion.net</i>: "What really interested me was that this was a new challenge. I had been doing the job for Zimbabwe for a number of years and this seemed like a good step forward for my career.

"Mushtaq Ahmed rang me after speaking to my brother Andy and inquired whether I would be interested in this position."

The Zimbabwean then said he had been impressed by Pakistan's young batsmen, and hoped to make then a more consistent unit: "I have seen a bit of them and I think they are very exciting.

"Obviously the most important thing for a batsman is to find consistency. It will be difficult for me to pin-point issues or what I will be specifically working on until I have worked with those players in person.

"All I will say is that if we can make them consistent then with their natural flair, they will become a world class winning side.

"The mental side is a huge factor and a lot of time these issues effect the best of players but it really comes down to your discipline and preparation, your diet and how you go about your practice and then there are skills such as leaving the ball outside your off-stump as well as knowing your own strengths and weaknesses.

"So, it really is a combination of factors and I am sure a lot of the measures I mentioned are already in place and all it needs is a little bit of fine tuning. All in all, that's the challenge I look forward to."

Flower added that he wanted to make sure the players kept their traditionally Asian 'flair': "English people in general are very regimental. Even I was quite a rigid player in the mental and technical side of things.

"The Asian players have so much flair which you really don't want to take away. I want to find a balance of flair and consistency from the Pakistani batsmen and as a coach, this will be one of my biggest challenges to make sure that I never take away that flair because that's what everyone wants to see."

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