Flower focused on Sydney finale

December 30,

England's coach, Andy Flower, says that the satisfaction of securing the Ashes in Australia for the first time in 24 years will not be allowed to distract from the main business of wrapping up a 3-1 series win, as the team prepares to head to Sydney to face an opposition shorn of their one remaining all-time great player, Ricky Ponting.

Flower's determination to remain grounded through the good times and the bad has served his squad well in recent times, not only in this series where England had to bounce back from a heavy defeat in Perth, but also in the 2009 Ashes when Australia squared the rubber in the fourth Test at Headingley, leaving England needing to win at The Oval to regain the Ashes, which they did so in emphatic style.

This time the challenge is somewhat different, with the main objective of the tour already wrapped up, but while Flower admitted that the celebrations in the MCG dressing room after the fourth Test had been "really special", he reiterated his determination that England should now push on to become the No. 1 side in the world. And that means refocusing on Sydney as soon as the hangovers have cleared.

"I am very proud of the way the guys have played throughout this tour, and the Melbourne performance was an outstanding one," said Flower. "I'm sure the players feel that way. But we also realise that there's a lot of cricket ahead on this tour, and a lot of cricket to be played in this fifth Test. We came out here to win this series - and we'll be doing everything we can to do that."

While previous England teams have regarded the Ashes as the be-all and end-all, Flower showed his determination to do things differently in the aftermath of the 2009 win, when the squad's celebrations were curtailed by a flight to Belfast. The same principle was in evidence on the morning after Melbourne, with a few sore heads around the team hotel, but there was certainly nothing to rival the carnage that followed the first of England's three victories in four rubbers, in 2005.

"We had some really special times in the changing room yesterday afternoon," said Flower. "I know for all the cricketers those are times you cherish, when they've fought hard and come out on top. Then they can enjoy each other's success, and each other's company for a little period of time in the sanctuary of the dressing room. The families joined us for a short time, and the guys enjoyed having their loved ones around too to share it with.

"I've seen a few of the guys, but there are some conspicuous by their absence," he added. "They did celebrate yesterday but they also realise their responsibility to the team and the team's reputation, so I'm sure they're all fine. We celebrated yesterday, and it's time to move on now."

Flower recognises that the challenges for modern-day international cricketers come in ceaseless waves. Beyond the immediate goal of victory in the Sydney Test, there is the prospect of a seven-match ODI campaign, followed swiftly by the World Cup in the subcontinent - and England, with five consecutive series wins in that form of the game, not to mention victory in the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean in May, believe they are ready to make a serious bid for the title for the first time since 1992.

"Everyone involved in this tour will feel a lot of pride about the way the guys have played, but I think it's much too early to be feeling satisfied, that's for sure," said Flower. "There are other things out there for us to achieve - and we want to climb the ladder in the world rankings. We're still ranked three or four in the world, and there are a lot of things out there for us to aim for."

Despite the euphoria of the MCG win, the form of Paul Collingwood is the one major concern that England have going into Sydney. So far in the campaign he has made just 70 runs in five innings, and has not passed fifty since the first Test against Pakistan in July. Eoin Morgan is the man waiting in the wings should the management decide that new blood is required in the middle order, but Flower insisted that England would not be making changes for the sake of it.

"I'm not over-concerned about Paul Collingwood," he said. "He's had a bit of a tough series. He got a couple of 90s in the first-class games, and looked in good order. His top score is a 40 in Adelaide, when again he looked in good order. But yes, his job is to score runs - like all of our batsmen - and he'll be looking to do that in Sydney.

"He's an experienced cricketer, a tough bloke - and he adds in all sorts of ways to our side," added Flower. "I don't feel tempted to experiment. People's careers are a very serious business, and you don't experiment with them."