Flower says his powers are not about being fair to everyone in England squad

ADELAIDE - England cricket team coach Andy Flower has said that his job is not about being fair to everyone in the squad.

Flower, who was speaking ahead of England’s three-day fixture against South Australia starting in Adelaide on Thursday, said he would make no apologies for giving his first-choice cricketers ample outings ahead of the first Test against Australia starting November 25.

“One of our priorities is not to give everyone a go. It’s not about trying to be fair to everyone. We are trying to prepare our Test side for Brisbane, that is the priority,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Flower, as saying.

“When you’ve got a squad of 16 or 17, obviously everyone wants to play, everyone’s very proud to represent their country, whether in preparation games or internationals. But our priority is to ensure that our Test XI is as ready as possible for the first Test,” he added.

While refusing to talk about selection specifics, or name a side until just before the toss, Flower’s comments point to fringe players again not getting a look in against the Redbacks.

Meanwhile, Australian interest in the Adelaide encounter centers on emerging SA batsman Callum Ferguson, touted a chance to be named in Australia’s first Test squad to be announced on Monday.

But SA captain Michael Klinger said the 25-year-old stroke player shouldn’t be judged on his output against England.

Teams:

SA: Michael Klinger (captain), Aiden Blizzard, Ben Edmondson, Callum Ferguson, Peter George, Jake Haberfield, Daniel Harris, Tim Lang, Graham Manou, Tom Moffat, Aaron O’Brien, James Smith (12th man to be named)

England: To be announced. (ANI)