ANDY FLOWER is expected to be revealed as England’s new director of cricket at Lord’s today Zimbabwean Flower made a worthy impression as standin coach during the 11-week tour of the Caribbean despite the unexpected defeat to West Indies in the Test series.

The 40-year-old initially displayed reluctance to fill that role due to his loyalty to former coach Peter Moores, the man who engaged him as his assistant two years ago.

He also deliberated for a number of weeks, and discussed things in detail with his family, over committing himself to applying for English cricket’s top coaching position.

But he gained a taste for the responsibility during his interim tenure and formed a strong bond with new captain Andrew Strauss, who has subsequently pushed publicly for Flower’s promotion.

Though England’s results were mixed, he impressed players and management alike with his demeanour and work ethic on the recent tour and his chances were undoubtedly boosted by the thrilling one-day series victory which concluded the trip.

Hugh Morris, managing director of England Cricket, observed Flower’s input firsthand both throughout the seven-week Test campaign and later in the limited-overs matches.

He is the man with ultimate responsibility for appointing Moores’ successor and will reveal his choice at lunchtime.

In the end there were few rivals for the role - professional head-hunting firm Odgers Ray & Berndtson were drafted in to help pinpoint the ideal candidate - but potential highprofile targets such as Australian Tom Moody and Mickey Arthur, of South Africa, ruled themselves out of the reckoning.

Former Essex batsman Flower showed his mettle during the Test series against West Indies, despite the defeat, and was involved in tough selection decisions, such as dropping Ian Bell, Steve Harmison and Monty Panesar, while speaking with honesty and authority.

That final trait suggested he had earnt the respect of the players while still demanding high standards in return.

All the signs pointed to his appointment ahead of a busy 2009 summer, which begins as early as May 6, and his fivehour discussion with national selector Geoff Miller last Thursday during the MCC’s match against Durham strengthened the hunch.

Miller revealed his preference for a new director of cricket to be in place before the first international squads of the summer are announced – he hopes that the opening Test party to face West Indies will be revealed this weekend – and it is inconceivable that he would have spent so long chatting about form and general appraisals with yesterday’s man.

Flower’s only viable rival appeared to be John Wright, the former India coach who is currently New Zealand’s high performance manager.