Andy Flower has urged England: Don’t believe the hype — and reminded them there’s a mountain to climb in Australia.
Flower is keen to put the brakes on over-confidence in the lead-up to the biggest series in world cricket, reports the mirror.co.uk.
England will be Public Enemy No.1 this week Down Under, where the Aussies are in a state of disarray with selection and injury worries.
In contrast, the build-up for Andrew Strauss and his men has been faultless. But coach Flower knows his job isn’t to get carried away on a wave of euphoria before a ball has been bowled in anger.
“We’ve got a big challenge on our hands with this first Test,” he acknowledged. “I think everyone should keep their feet firmly on the floor because we know how much of a challenge lies ahead of us. In the past 20 years at the Gabba, Australia have won 16 and drawn four Tests and that's the sort of history we’re looking to overturn.
“Those simple figures show you what a powerful unit they are in their own country and there’s no getting away from that.
“That is going to be quite a record to turn over, but our side in the last 12 to 18 months has done a few good things. One of them was turning over that Lord’s record against Australia, where we hadn’t beaten them for 75 years. Our guys are excited by the challenge, but I don't like being drawn into predictions and talking about favourites and underdogs to be honest.
“Ask any of those players. Once you're out there in the middle, those sort of thoughts mean nothing at all.”
Flower rubbished claims by Aussie legend Shane Warne that Kevin Pietersen is an “outcast” in the England squad.
He said: “I don’t know where that has come from. Kevin is anything but an outcast in our dressing room and I don’t give that any credence whatsoever. He’s a very popular member of our dressing room and also a very important member of our side.”