England coach Andy Flower issues denial Queensland excursion was for pleasure and not business.
Andy Flower has been forced to deny that England’s pre-tour visit to Queensland was simply a holiday camp.
England’s head coach and the side as a whole have come under some fierce criticism since the team only just managed a draw against New Zealand in the first Test.
Some critics accused the side of being over confident and it has now been said they acted like they were on holiday in the build-up in NZ, rather than preparing for the task in hand.
“There’s been a lot of criticism that we had a little bit of a holiday camp in Queenstown,” Flower told the BBC in reposnse to the players being spotted doing a canyon swing just before the first warm-up match.
“I think it’s inaccurate, I encouraged the guys to do different things.”
England went on to lost that warm-up game against a New Zealand XI by three wickets and struggled in the first Test, being the second best team for much of the game.
This isn’t the first time that England have come under criticism recently for their performances in New Zealand. Former captain Michael Vaughan did not pull any punches on his opinion of the team.
“England didn’t respect the game,” Vaughan told BBC’s Test Match Special.
“England’s mindset has been over-confident; they weren’t prepared to do the hard yards.”
Despite an impressive record going into this New Zealand series, many clearly believe England need to improve in several areas before the second Test starts in Wellington on Wednesday – particularly with the Ashes series this summer quickly approaching.
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