Kingston, Jamaica: Coach Andy Flower admitted England buckled under West Indies pressure as they slumped to a humiliating defeat in the first Test where they were skittled out for their third lowest total in history.
England were dismissed for just 51 at Sabina Park to lose by an innings and 23 runs on Saturday with a day and a session to spare.
"I think the bottom line is that the players have to take responsibility for not handling the pressure situation very well and not getting through it," said Flower.
"From this, we can learn that playing international cricket is about dealing with pressure, and batting in the second innings was pressure. What you have to be able to do in international cricket is handle the pressure, and we did not do that on Saturday."
Flower acknowledged this was not the first time that this has happened to England, nor does he believe it would not be the last time.
"Things like this happen in international sport, and it has happened too often to us," he said.
"I do not believe for one moment that the players are not learning anything. I think the contrary is the case, and they are learning.
"But it is not like this is happening every innings, so I do not think you can label the players as totally unable to handle pressure."
Flower acknowledged that his role would be to help the players process what they would have learned from the match and help them come out stronger for it in Antigua where the second Test begins on Friday.
"As a coach, when you are working with players all the time, you are talking cricket, the psychology of cricket, the techniques used - both physical and mental, and you try to have an influence in that way," he said.
"Everyone is very different. It is a very individual thing how you handle pressure and I have got to say that a lot of our guys have delivered under pressure on countless occasions. On Saturday, none of them did."
Flower, however, thinks it's not the time for pointing fingers but a time for serious reflection, and for the players to remind themselves for whom they are playing.
"The guys are very hurt about what happened," he said. "Playing for England or playing for your country is a very proud moment for anyone.
"They are not only playing for themselves or their career or their team, they are playing for their country and the people that have come over to watch them, so to have a performance like this, to subside like this, it's very, very disappointing.
"They are not proud of what happened obviously, people are hurting. The important thing is that we learn something from it and that we become stronger from it," he added.
The second Test at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua begins on Friday.
Source: http://cricketnext.in.com/news/england-flopped-under-wi-pressure-flower/38133-13.html
England were dismissed for just 51 at Sabina Park to lose by an innings and 23 runs on Saturday with a day and a session to spare.
"I think the bottom line is that the players have to take responsibility for not handling the pressure situation very well and not getting through it," said Flower.
"From this, we can learn that playing international cricket is about dealing with pressure, and batting in the second innings was pressure. What you have to be able to do in international cricket is handle the pressure, and we did not do that on Saturday."
Flower acknowledged this was not the first time that this has happened to England, nor does he believe it would not be the last time.
"Things like this happen in international sport, and it has happened too often to us," he said.
"I do not believe for one moment that the players are not learning anything. I think the contrary is the case, and they are learning.
"But it is not like this is happening every innings, so I do not think you can label the players as totally unable to handle pressure."
Flower acknowledged that his role would be to help the players process what they would have learned from the match and help them come out stronger for it in Antigua where the second Test begins on Friday.
"As a coach, when you are working with players all the time, you are talking cricket, the psychology of cricket, the techniques used - both physical and mental, and you try to have an influence in that way," he said.
"Everyone is very different. It is a very individual thing how you handle pressure and I have got to say that a lot of our guys have delivered under pressure on countless occasions. On Saturday, none of them did."
Flower, however, thinks it's not the time for pointing fingers but a time for serious reflection, and for the players to remind themselves for whom they are playing.
"The guys are very hurt about what happened," he said. "Playing for England or playing for your country is a very proud moment for anyone.
"They are not only playing for themselves or their career or their team, they are playing for their country and the people that have come over to watch them, so to have a performance like this, to subside like this, it's very, very disappointing.
"They are not proud of what happened obviously, people are hurting. The important thing is that we learn something from it and that we become stronger from it," he added.
The second Test at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua begins on Friday.
Source: http://cricketnext.in.com/news/england-flopped-under-wi-pressure-flower/38133-13.html
