Lucknow Super Giants bid farewell to Head Coach Andy Flower after two seasons
The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have announced that they have parted ways with head coach Andy Flower after two years. The franchise took to its official Twitter handle to confirm the news amidst speculation of discussion with former Australian Justin Langer as the new head coach.
Flower joined LSG before its inaugural IPL season in 2022 and was the coach for two years. Under Flower, the franchise had a couple of fruitful years, finishing third in the points table on both occasions and qualifying for the playoffs.
Unfortunately, the side suffered defeats in the Eliminator to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the knockout contest.
With the former Zimbabwean legend's two-year contract coming to an end, the franchise, looking to head in a different direction, shared a heartwarming post on their Twitter handle.
"Dear Andy, Today it's farewell, but it'll never be goodbye because you'll always be one of our own. Thank you for everything!" the tweet read.
Dear Andy,
Today it's farewell, but it'll never be goodbye because you'll always be one of our own. Thank you for everything! 💙 https://t.co/EGtaRvYiHj
Andy Flower reportedly joined the Australian coaching staff as a team consultant ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) final against India. It was also reported that the 55-year-old would return to the Australian backroom staff during the latter stages of the Ashes series.
The move worked wonders as the Aussies defeated India in the summit clash by 209 runs at the Oval.
Regarded among the best wicketkeeper-batters to ever play the game, the former Zimbabwean captain has also tasted much success in coaching roles around the globe. Before his head coaching role with LSG, Flower was England's Team director and head coach from 2009 to 2014.
Under Flower, the English team won three Ashes series, including the one in Australia in 2010/11, and also triumphed in the T20 World Cup at the Caribean in 2010. Renowned among the best players of spin in his playing career, the former Zimbabwean Great was also instrumental in England's sensational series victory on turning pitches in India in 2012-13.
"One thing that stands out for me is the confidence with which Zimbabwe are playing their cricket" - Andy Flower
Andy Flower was impressed with Zimbabwe's recent performances, especially in the ICC ODI World Cup Qualifiers, despite the side narrowly missing out on qualification for the main event in India.
The left-hander, who scored over 11,000 International runs for Zimbabwe in his illustrious career, praised the team for playing with supreme confidence and team spirit.
Speaking to the ICC a few days back, Flower said:
"One thing that stands out for me is the confidence with which Zimbabwe are playing their cricket, and I think partly that comes from exposure to international matches, to international tournaments and series. I see a certainly strong spirit in them."
He added:
"They've got some experienced players, they've got a few youngsters and it'll be an interesting transition when they move on from some of their experienced players in the next few years. But I do see a fighting spirit. You see that in the way that they field."
Zimbabwe's all-time leading run-scorer also hailed the team's never say die attitude in their sensational win against West Indies.
"I think a great example of that spirit would have been in the game against the West Indies when Zimbabwe had posted, I think 267 (268) and on a very flat deck, and the West Indies were in line to chase that down in the afternoon at Harare Sports Club," said Flower.
"But the way that the Zimbabweans went about defending that total in the field, both of their bowling and their fielding, indicated a certain spirit and a determination that they weren't going to allow West Indies to get over the line," he concluded.
The African nation started the tournament strongly, winning their first five games and looking on course for World Cup qualification.
However, successive defeats to Sri Lanka and Scotland eliminated the hosts from finishing in the top two to qualify for the showpiece event in October.