England have slowly become one big happy family

England captain Alastair Cook has praised head coach Andy Flower and spin coach Mushtaq Ahmed for their instrumental input throughout the four-Test series against India.

Cook noted that Mushtaq, a former Pakistan spinner, had trained the England batsmen how to play spin, while also giving them advice on how to deal with the sweltering heat and humidity.

“We’re very lucky that we have got people like Mushy (bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed),” Cook said. “He’s experienced in these conditions having grown up in Pakistan, playing in these conditions all the time.

“His nuggets of advice, which you can only get from experience. He works very hard. And we’ve got Andy, how he batted here. So, two very good people. These are very important wins. We had a tough 2012. The way we quickly managed to rectify few of our problems, it’s a credit to our coaching staff and the leadership of Andy Flower.

Cook also took the time to compliment all of his team-mates, stating that they had worked extremely hard to ensure that England’s 27-year losing streak in India came to an end.

“Also to the players as well, especially on this tour,” Cook added. “A new captain, things are slightly different. I can’t praise them enough.”

England relations in the dressing room seem to be at an all-time high and Cook mentioned that the senior players in the squad were handing out golden pieces of advice to the youngsters.

“Because if we have another bad performance, the old flag is up again,” Cook said. “We are going in the right direction. I said this at the beginning of the tour, and I will have to keep saying it that we have to keep improving and keep working hard.

“New guys have come in and we need to give them the best advice that we can…what we have learnt from this tour and what we have learnt in the last 12 months as an England side. Keep passing that information so that the experience that few of us have got now and we can keep using that.”

Cook credited pace duo James Anderson and Steven Finn for the heart and soul they showed, especially since the tracks were prepared to be a spinners paradise and having almost nothing in it for the seamers.

“We know what quality Jimmy possesses, and Steve stepping up after not getting match practice and hitting his mark straight away with figures, very difficult to score off,” Cook added. “It’s a credit to their fitness and heard that even when it gets tough, they keep running in for me. As a captain that’s all you can ask for.”