England's spot of bother last Christmas and new year was depicted as a crisis-and in sporting terms, it probably was.
England's spot of bother last Christmas and new year was depicted as a crisis - and in sporting terms, it probably was.
Yet for the man who would become the new coach, or team director if you prefer, the ructions caused by the incompatibility of his predecessor Peter Moores and then captain Kevin Pietersen was nothing more than a local difficulty.
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By comparison, the relative storm in which Flower found himself at the start of 2009 barely deserves to be described in such terms.
Trying to put it all into sensible context, Flower's words this week were humble and considered.
"I've learned a hell of a lot," he admits, of his eight-month tenure so far.
"It's a great challenge, and I'm proud to have been given the responsibility - now we've got to move it forward."
Flower is hardly likely to lift the lid on who said what to whom in the chaotic days before his appointment.
What he is at pains to do, though, is ensure honourable mention for those who have helped him since - and England's new Ashes-winning captain Strauss is top of his list.
"When I was thinking about taking the job it was just the short space of time - consolidating things in the West Indies," he remembers.
"That was the first thing we had to do."
Since then the captain chosen to succeed Pietersen has formed a convincing partnership with the coach.
"It helps a lot having a leader like Strauss around," Flower stresses.
"He has been a rock around which the team have built inningsu00a0- and he's also shown very strong leadership on and off the field."
So what is the ethos of the Flower-Strauss axis then?
"One of the things is always putting the England team first, above individual goals," the coach explains.
"That's something we've done very well."
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