Flower’s ‘tactical ploy’ to keep England quicks ‘acclimatized’ ahead of first Test

LONDON - England coach Andy Flower has decided to split his squad ahead of the Ashes series and dispatch his three main fast bowlers to Brisbane next week for extra preparation ahead of the first Test.

Flower took this decision after watching England dismiss South Australia for just 221 on day two of their latest tour match.

Flower reckons James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Steven Finn have performed well enough in the first two warm-up matches to justify such a decision ahead of the First Test on November 25, The Sun reports.

England will be fielding a second-string bowling attack in their final practice game against Australia ‘A’ in Hobart on Wednesday.

The reason for dividing the squad is the hot and humid Brisbane weather 1,000 miles north of chilly Hobart on the island of Tasmania.

On previous tours, England have struggled to adapt to the extreme climatic differences in the two venues and bowled like drains in the first Test.

Anderson said: “I believe I could go into the Test without playing in Hobart. I feel pretty good and have bowled some reasonably long spells. I think it’s a good idea. It gives us a nice break and we get acclimatised better to the conditions in Brisbane.” (ANI)