Flower helps Dartmouth reunion blossom

But on Sunday he was just one of the lads again – and loving every minute of it.

The former England coach returned to the club cricket scene as he joined his former team-mates for a reunion day at West Bromwich Dartmouth.

A 20-over clash between sides skippered by Amir Farooque and Naheem Sajjad provided the on-field entertainment, but the day was all about catching up with old friends and reliving the magical moments of yesteryear.

Flower, who also guided England to the world T20 crown in 2010 and was awarded the OBE in 2011, was the star name at the gathering.

It was the brainchild of former Dartmouth men Richard Cox, Stuart Baker and Farooque. And Flower was delighted to be back at the club he served as overseas professional for two seasons in 1994 and 1995.

He said: "It was a brilliant day. I met up with Coxy and Farooque, Gus Mackay (another Dartmouth old boy and Zimbabwe Test player) and Dave Parsons (England's former spin coach who also played for Dartmouth) a while ago.

"We had some dinner together at The Vine, which is close by here. We used to go there when we played together.

"I think Farooque or Coxy suggested a reunion match and everyone was keen. It's great to see everyone and really good to be back."

Flower followed fellow Zimbabwe Test player Dave Houghton to Sandwell Park and believes his spells in club cricket helped set him on the way to a stellar career, that saw him average 51.54 in 63 Tests.

On the field, at Dartmouth Flower was a hit and is one of only 11 players to score 1,000 top flight runs in the league.

He plundered 1,018 in 1995 – the same season his brother, Grant, scored six more for Barnt Green.

Flower added: "I was here in the mid-90s and we had a great time together. I followed Dave Houghton here.

"Dave went on to coach Worcestershire and, obviously with him being too busy for club cricket he asked if I was interested.

"We actually shacked up in Worcester together and I played up here, which was great. We had some good competition and Barnt Green were a very good side.

"Gus Mackay and Grant played together at Barnt Green. I remember it being really competitive cricket and great fun. It definitely helped me progress as a player.

"My seasons over here playing club cricket were absolutely formative in my growth as a player. You learned to take responsibility. I was the overseas pro and you are expected to score runs.

"Even though the expectation is not as great as you get in international cricket, it's still there. So it's great training ground for that."

The touches of class were still there when Flower walked out to bat as he made a bright and breezy 29.

It saw the second, third and fifth balls he faced effortlessly dispatched for fours, before he danced down the pitch and launched a lofted drive over long off and the ropes for six.

The day had started with Cox conducting a draw to determine the line-ups.

The banter in quick supply when Sri Lankan Tharindu Perera, who made the trip from Wakefield to join his old team-mates, was called out.

Cox, who was delighted with the turn out, said: "No mileage today, the club has changed."

He played 25 years for the club before becoming director of cricket at Warwickshire and chief executive officer of the Netherlands Cricket Board.

He added: "The wonders of social media helped us get in touch with players. If we had tried to do this 20 years ago we wouldn't have achieved what we achieved on Sunday.

"We were at a pub one day and talking about how Sunday cricket had gone down the pan. That was where we learned a lot about the game.

"Playing with experienced players taught us a lot, but those days look to be over.

"We got talking about things and could we do anything on a Sunday to get everyone back, to see everyone again and enjoy the day.

"We got together to run it by Andy earlier in the year. We said 'what do you think?' and he said he would love to play. The day was planned around him and when he could play.

"Club cricket is the lifeblood of the game and we need to look after it. Hopefully, after Sunday, one or two of the players will think 'I can still do this' and get back playing.

"But it was funny when the players went into the dressing room, they all went to sit in the same places they used to sit in when they played here.

"It was like they had never been apart."

Another ex-player, Vinoo Patel, took time to pop in while on a visit from Canada to see relatives in the area, while the day ended with Dipak Patel arriving with the entire Papua New Guinea squad in tow.

Patel, who went onto to play for Worcestershire and New Zealand after playing for Dartmouth, coaches Papua New Guinea's national team and is back in Britain with the side for a series of friendly clashes.

The day was such a success, that the club are now planning to make it an annual event and will play for the Ian Denning Trophy, in honour of the former Dartmouth all-rounder who sadly passed away aged 50.

Cricket chairman Mike Corcoran said: "It was a brilliant day and it went better than expected. It was fantastic to see Andy here back with the boys. Next year will be bigger and better."