Andy Flower plots England's assault on summit of the game

On the morning after, the sun glistened
on the opera house roof, the spinnakers were up in the harbour and some
brave souls were climbing up the bridge (though this would not have been
a good idea for the majority of the England team and their supporters
so soon after the celebrations).

All was well with the world – if we overlook the furrowed brows of
Andrew Hilditch, Greg Chappell, Tim Nielsen, Ricky Ponting, Michael
Clarke and anyone else who holds a position of authority with Cricket
Australia.

England could luxuriate in the wake of victory, but not for long. Andrew
Strauss has a week off before rejoining the squad in Melbourne;
Alastair Cook is heading home with Monty Panesar, which seems odd, but
the selection for the one-day series was made before the monumental
nature of Cook's feats became apparent. Jimmy Anderson, the nearest
rival to Cook for the man of the series, is also popping back to England
again for a fortnight. Matt Prior is going to play in the Twenty20 Big
Bash for Victoria.

The rest, having said goodbye to their families, were setting off for
Canberra and their 50-over fixture against the Prime Minister's XI, the
solitary match before the one-day internationals get under way this week
(there will be two Twenty20 matches followed by seven 50-over
contests).

The England team director, Andy Flower, will not be letting his players
luxuriate for long. He is as well-grounded as an ostrich, though his
head is seldom found in the sand. For him the celebrations were now over
and the time to put this Ashes victory in the context of his
distinguished career in cricket was probably "after I've finished this
job".

However, Flower remains ambitious for this team. "Our ultimate goal is
to be No1. It's realistic. It's achievable." If Flower says that it must
be possible. He is not a man for rash promises. In the Test rankings
England are at three, behind India and South Africa. This summer England
play India in July and August, as well as Sri Lanka, which represents a
fine opportunity to narrow that gap.

Like most good cricket coaches Flower remains as anonymous as possible.
He and his back-room staff were conspicuously absent during the
celebrations at the SCG. "It is the 11 players who step over the line
and who have to make decisions under pressure," he said.

"To be out on the ground afterwards is the place for those players. The
captain did get us up on the podium and we appreciated that." Then the
back-room boys disappeared again.

In his post-match conference Strauss had explained Flower's absence on
the field by saying that his head coach wasn't very good at smiling.
When informed of that remark, Flower did indeed smile – quite well.
"That's Strauss just being his cynical self," he said, still smiling.
"After the match we really appreciated each other and the occasion. We
had some special times in the changing rooms and out on the grass
afterwards. We will keep those memories for the rest of our lives."

After the 2009 victory Flower made a point of not going overboard. He
had witnessed from afar the excesses of 2005 and would not be trapped
into any repetition. "Of course that 2009 victory was special", he says.
"But we are a better team now than we were then. Winning in Australian
conditions has been a much better achievement and we won in a far more
emphatic way. Everyone should be very proud."

But that was yesterday. Flower keeps looking forward. When England won
the Ashes in 2009, they were subsequently trounced by Australia in the
one-day games. "They were a much better one-day side than us, but we
have improved since then," he said.

There is also the World Cup around the corner. Flower said that he would
be mindful of what is required on the sub-continent when that
competition gets under way in five weeks' time, as well as trying to
beat Australia, who are still ranked No1 in the 50-over format. Don't
worry. He has been thinking about that World Cup and the alien
conditions. "New Zealand have just played a series in Bangladesh and
lost 4-0," he just happened to mention.

Could England win the World Cup? There was a measured pause. "It is
possible, but very difficult. We are nowhere near the top in the one-day
game, but with our brand of cricket we have a chance."

One immediate source of concern for Flower is the IPL auction, which is
now taking place and that might well include the majority of his
players. "The IPL is a tricky subject for us because I personally don't
blame any of the players for wanting to go there and to look for that
pay day. But it is tricky because the schedules are so heavy and rest is
sometimes as important as the hard training that we put them through.
This applies especially to our front-line attack and they have made
themselves available for the IPL this year. Because of the risk of
injury and shortening their lifespan, the IPL is dangerous. Until the
ICC or the ECB tell us different they are available for that."

Here the spotlight is on Anderson in particular. His importance to the
England team has mushroomed over the past 18 months. Moreover, there is
the dodgy scenario of Anderson going home for a fortnight now, but being
eager to play in the IPL in April. When pressed about Anderson's
schedule Flower recognises the pitfalls.

"He needs his rest right now, there's no doubt about that. So we can't
say because you're going to the IPL we're going to play you through
these games. If we don't rest him right now there is a significant
chance he will break down. He has just played five Tests in a row and
that's a magnificent achievement in itself. So he has to rest now."

It is a tricky problem, but a pinprick compared to the difficulties
facing Flower's peers in the Australia set-up. Even so there is every
chance that Flower, on the journey to Canberra, was turning over in his
mind how best to deal with the issue. He never stops.

Best of the best
Openers

There are some very good left-handers not selected: Smith, Gambhir and
Strauss. But how can we leave Cook out after his feats in Australia? One
caveat: runs against Australia used to count double, but the currency
has changed. Runs against South Africa and India now mean much more.
Sehwag has to play to keep us awake if Cook gets in.

1 V SEHWAG, 2 A COOK
Middle order

Tendulkar and Kallis are foregone conclusions. Both appear to have found
their fifth wind; both have decorated the Cape Town Test making it an
extra special sporting occasion – like Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer
battling away at the Masters. Once we have ruled out Collingwood, Pujara
and Prince there are plenty of candidates for the middle order and we
will be omitting some exceptional players: Trott, Pietersen, Bell,
Dravid and Laxman. Leaning towards the younger brigade I've plumped for
Amla, gaining in confidence all the while, and De Villiers, who will
also ensure that appropriate fielding standards are maintained.

3 H AMLA, 4 S TENDULKAR, 5 J KALLIS, 6 AB DE VILLIERS
Wicketkeeper

Another close call here. Matt Prior has had a fine tour in Australia
with gloves and bat. Mark Boucher goes on and on as tenaciously as ever.
But Mahendra Singh Dhoni just gets the nod, partly because we need
someone to lead the side out now that Strauss and Smith have been
overlooked at the top of the order.

7 MS DHONI
Spinner

The purist will not tolerate the wily Harris, who looks as if he has
just been plucked from club cricket, so it's a straight choice between
Harbhajan and Swann. Neither are shrinking violets but Swann qualifies
as the more level-headed. His figures in Australia have not been
startling, but he has played his part in a self-effacing manner - by
Swann standards.

8 G SWANN
Pace bowlers

This is the easiest section to select, which may reflect that there are
not too many fast bowlers around the world who have the ability to
frighten. Only one man can consider himself unlucky to be omitted and
that is South Africa's giant, Morne Morkel, but the subtlety of Khan is
more appealing even if the emphasis of this attack is now heavily biased
towards swing bowling. The added bonus is that being left-handed the
Indian will create rough outside the right-hander's off stump for Swann
to exploit. So we have a trio of artists; Steyn is the quickest, Khan is
the cleverest, Anderson the most improved.

9 D STEYN, 10 J ANDERSON, 11 Z KHAN