Everything not rosy in ‘vulnerable’ Australian camp: Flower

SYDNEY - England head coach Andy Flower believes the Australians remain fragile, and pointed that Shane Watson and Mike Hussey have largely carried the team’s batting.

A 267-run defeat in the third Ashes Test has forced Flower and captain Andrew Strauss to consider changes to the team for the fourth at the MCG.

“There is no doubt that everything is not rosy in their camp. One Test match does not create that, so yes we realise that, Watson and Hussey have been very good for them so far, and we will be looking to make the most of that in this next Test (in Melbourne),” he said.

Flower said pacer Steven Finn had acquitted himself well, though his control and ability to impose pressure has been somewhat lacking, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

“I think Steven Finn has done really well, for a 21-year-old coming into an Ashes series in Australia he’s handled himself superbly,” said Flower.

“He’s taken a lot of wickets in three Test matches and I think we expect a lot of these young men to come in and shoulder a lot of responsibility.

“A five Test series is hard on everyone, both physically and emotionally, for the fast bowlers even more so I would say. We’ve got a few days now to reassess prior to Melbourne and the bottom line is we’ll pick the XI that we think will have the best chance of winning in Melbourne,” Flower said.

“The workload on our bowlers is heavy, in the absence of a quality allrounder we’re sticking with our four bowler attack, and we’ve shown over the last 18 months that it’s served us well,” he added.

Ian Bell’s crisp strokeplay may see him move to No.5 or even as high as No.4, dropping both Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen a notch for a player who seems better equipped to handle the moving ball.

“We are always looking at ways to improve our side. Ian Bell looks in very good form, he’s very confident and he’s played beautifully throughout this tour,” said Flower. (ANI)