Andy Flower gains coach of the year gong

30/11/2011

England cricket coach Andy Flower has been awarded the title of coach of the year at the 2011 UK Coaching Awards.

The former Zimbabwe Test star also won the High-Performance Coach of the Year title after the last 12 months saw the England cricket team rise to the top in the Test match rankings.

Flower's side clinched top spot when it went 3-0 up in the Test series against India in Birmingham, eventually winning the series 4-0.

And fans enjoying hospitality packages at Edgbaston next summer will be hoping for more of the same when England play a Test match against the West Indies.

England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive David Collier paid tribute to Flower, saying: "Andy has been an outstanding coach to the England cricket team and I am delighted that his dedication, knowledge and all-round leadership skills have been recognised within the wider sporting world."

Flower's international career saw him average 51 with the bat in Tests, but ended after he quit the side in the wake of the black armband protest he and Henry Olonga made in the 2003 World Cup against the human rights abuses of Robert Mugabe's government.

By Sam Smith