Andy Flower still striving to improve the England team

England coach Andy Flower concerned that individual players were becoming 'mini-corporations’ 

Not many top-class leaders in our society today. Some political parties don't have a single one. English cricket has two in Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower. Strauss was only installed as England's captain in January, Flower as coach in April, yet already they have brought home the bacon – and are intent on bringing more hams and chops.

Our sporting world contains so many wasted and platitudinous words. Strauss and Flower have such lucidity of thought and expression that their vision – the attribute essential in a leader – soon becomes apparent.

When Flower was interviewed for his job, he set out his vision to the five-man committee. "I took some of the notes from that interview to South Africa for the Champions Trophy to see if I was living up to my word, and although there were one or two areas which I had to look at, in the main I think I had actioned what I said I was going to.

"There were some important principles, like putting the team before the individual. I was concerned at the possibility of individuals becoming mini-corporations, and that would negatively affect the team – and it was negatively affecting the team." No names, but those of 'Andrew' and 'Flintoff' spring to mind.

"So one of the principles we have to operate by is that the team always has to come first. Also, I wanted an ethos of constant improvement, not maintenance, because there could be a tendency for players to be motivated by holding on to their central contracts."

England will surely not win either the Twenty20 or one-day series in South Africa, and a shared Test series with the No 1 Test side would be a fine achievement; but there will be no slackening as there was after England regained the Ashes in 2005.

"I thought there was huge scope in addressing our fielding skills and intensity. We can't have the situation where we can't run singles to mid-on and mid-off, but the opposition can.

"I think there is scope for looking at the statistics side of the game and using it more intelligently. If you look at some of the stats the Americans compile and study – and they have been professional for a lot longer than we have – that is something we have to exploit if we are going to be better than other countries.'

The similarities between Strauss and Flower extend to their backgrounds. Flower lived in Cape Town until he was two, then in Johannesburg (where Strauss spent his first five years) until he was 10. Flower's father – himself a fine cricket coach – moved to Harare: "it was in 1978, bizarrely, before the civil war had ended. I don't know what my father was thinking."

"I feel we have got fairly similar theories," Flower said of his captain. "I think that is a possible weakness – we might be a bit too similar. I can't think of any examples, but then I wouldn't, because if we are of like mind and temperament then you don't notice improvements that should be made."

Is there an occasion when the coach or captain should lose his temper publicly in the dressing room? "Yes, I would certainly do it, I don't think Strauss would. He remains very much in control of himself, he prefers to calm down before he speaks and get his thoughts in order."

Amid all the talking the coach has to do, what does Flower think was his most significant input during the Ashes? "I think the contribution after Headingley was significant. I hate saying that in an interview…it does sound ordinary!" Flower laughs at the mere hint of pretentiousness in claiming that something he said was 'significant'. It is wonderful to hear the self-deprecating laughter, which has not come easily to most England coaches: humour is perspective.

Still, it ranks as one of the great psychological turnarounds in sport. England, hammered by an innings and plenty in the fourth Test, won the fifth at the Oval. And Flower's part should never be forgotten.

"An important thing was making sure that we did not leave the ground and disappear around the country. I was convinced we needed closure on that game – getting back to the hotel, booking the room and telling the players that before we disappear from this place we are going to sit down and talk about it, and then we can go and start afresh and begin our preparation for the next match. There were some heated words said in that room, emotions were running fairly high, but it allowed us to put it [the defeat] behind us and move on.

"One of the things that most disappointed me was that the players had played South Africa there the year before and made the same mistakes. If we play there again and they make the same mistakes, I will burst into tears. Because English batsmen should be the best in those conditions. They should know the conditions and how to play. As a side, you've got to learn and learn quickly.

"And that was how the conversation started, and there were a number of questions I had that were prompts for discussion. I directly asked either individuals or the team and they discussed them honestly." Flower had chaired a similarly firm and fruitful meeting after England had been dismissed for 51 in Jamaica in February. It was then Strauss sensed Flower would want to move up from batting coach to England coach.

England's players and supporters are extremely lucky that accident and design have brought the pair together. Although they are less than a year into their jobs, if anybody knows how to make a cricket team greater than the sum of its parts, it is Strauss and Flower.