He is now coach to the England Performance Programme and the Lions

Andy Flower is taking his place among the sprinkling of supporters at an early season county match happy to remain anonymous as he sizes up one of the next generation of England cricketers.

'We're sitting here at the Oval watching Somerset and Tom Abell is batting with Marcus Trescothick,' said England's most successful coach. 'The biggest compliment you can pay Tom is that both look like international batsmen.

'There are some very good young batters around and Tom is one of them. We just have to keep pushing the boundaries and find out how good they can be.'

Andy Flower gives his first interview since resigning as England coach after the 5-0 series defeat in Australia

The Zimbabwean admits it was a disappointing end to an otherwise successful period at the helm

Two and a bit years on from the Ashes disaster that brought his distinguished reign at the head of the England team to a crashing halt and Flower is reveling in his role as coach to the England Performance Programme and the Lions.

'This is an excellent match to be at,' says Flower as we watch one of the four county games he took in within four days last week assessing young talent.

'Tom Curran and Mark Footitt opening the bowling for Surrey is great competition for Tom. He may not have scored many here but you can see his potential.

'We've got some very exciting young players and I think English cricket should feel very optimistic about the resources we have.'

Flower is finally optimistic himself now after emerging with his dignity intact from the fall-out of the 5-0 Ashes thrashing that saw one of the best of all England teams unexpectedly disintegrate spectacularly and then bitterly.

The man who coached England to three Ashes victories, the No 1 Test ranking and a World Twenty20 triumph disappeared into the background to lick his wounds while the mud-slinging and recriminations swirled around him.

He is predicting a bright future for English cricket under the tutelage of Trevor Bayliss and Paul Farbrace

Flower is keeping an eye out for young English talent as he monitors the next generation of talent

Even now he will not respond to the assassination of his character by Kevin Pietersen in the saga's aftermath and instead is content to still be playing his part in the betterment of English cricket away from the spotlight he never relished.

'It fell apart very quickly and much quicker than I hoped,' reflected Flower on those tumultuous times in Australia.

'Regardless of whether I moved on I would like to have seen a healthier transition where some senior players stayed and there was a drip-feed of younger ones rather than a complete makeover.

'Sometimes life doesn't work out perfectly and that's an example of that but England have made a great recovery.

'Peter Moores put some really good foundations in place and had some tough situations to deal with and I think Trevor Bayliss and Paul Farbrace have reaped some rewards for the work he did during that transitional period for English cricket.

Flower poses with Alastair Cook in the dressing room after winning the 2009 Ashes series at the Oval

England won their first ICC trophy under Flower when they triumphed in the 2010 World Twenty20

'It's such a shame it didn't work out twice for Peter because he's an outstanding coach, and man, and Trevor has acknowledged that which is good because he didn't need to do that,' says Flower in his first major interview since the Ashes meltdown that cost him his job.

'Trevor is a very experienced coach and he's bringing a lot of knowledge to English cricket. He may give the impression he's a simple guy from the bush in New South Wales but he has a cricketing wisdom about him and about people and teams.

'He's making that count for English cricket. I still don't know Trevor that well but I'm looking forward to knowing him better.'

It is an enormous shame that it all ended so badly for Flower after he did so much, along with his captain Andrew Strauss, to lift England to unprecedented levels after taking over in the wake of another Pietersen fall-out in 2009.

He deserves to be remembered for the highs of that rare away Ashes success in 2010-11, climaxing with innings victories in Melbourne and Sydney, and another win against Australia in the final of the 2010 World Twenty20, rather than when the world of English cricket came tumbling down around him.

'There were hard times during that tour of Australia and some testing times for me and a few others afterwards,' he reflects now. 'So I don't have good memories of it but having said that it was still fascinating to be part of.

Flower would not be drawn on the Kevin Pietersen controversy that undermined the end of his time in charge

'It was interesting to try to find a way of halting the slide even though we weren't able to do it. It was fascinating to watch how people were dealing with what we went through and how I dealt with it myself.

'Coming out the other side and evaluating why things happened. Hopefully I'm stronger and wiser for it.

'If we'd won that Ashes I would have wanted to carry on, no question. There was talk of me going even if we'd won but I would have wanted to stay because I was really enjoying the job and it's one of the best you can have. Why wouldn't you carry on when you're winning?'

Alastair Cook did, of course, carry on while England moved on without the likes of highly successful players like Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott, Matt Prior and, controversially, Pietersen.

And the way his second captain has emerged from the dark times himself gives Flower enormous satisfaction.

'Cooky has done amazingly well,' says Flower. 'He's got genuine resilience and strength. He was under a lot of pressure in that post-Ashes period. He took a lot of the brunt of the Pietersen fall-out and has always been a stubborn b****r which is one of his great qualities.

'He was stubborn enough not to back down personally from the challenge in front of him as England captain and I'll always respect him for that.

'He came through it like a champion and hopefully he's got a few years of heavy scoring in front of him. And not just heavy scoring but also contributing as a leader.

'One of the things I've most enjoyed over the last 18 months or so is watching him change as a captain. I think he's evolved as a leader.

Flower enjoyed phenomenal success with Andrew Strauss and the pair won two Ashes series together

'He's become stronger, more certain of his views and he's learnt from watching. The example set by Brendon McCullum and New Zealand, I think, was very important to him.

'Some of that stubbornness sometimes meant he didn't learn as quickly as some but I think because he was going through such a hard time he watched and looked and listened during that period and he's come out with much clearer views on his leadership and the tactics he's going to employ in Test cricket.

'It's a really tough job at any stage and we tend to think as soon as we give someone the captaincy they become all knowing on tactics, leadership and selection and how people develop.

'It's a crazy thing to expect young guys to become great leaders straightaway but part of my job is to create environments in which we can give opportunities to these players to lead in different ways.

'And through that they can make mistakes, learn about themselves and learn what leadership means in their context. That's quite a chunky responsibility we've got at our level.'

It is a responsibility Flower is relishing in a far more significant role than his initial job as director of elite coaching that the ECB gave him after he finally decided he could not possibly survive that 5-0 humiliation and resigned.

'It's very different to being England coach but I've really enjoyed doing it for the last two winters,' says Flower.

The former Zimbabwe batsman addresses the media after England's fifth Test defeat at Sydney in 2014

'You're still working with very talented players, ones who are hungry to play international cricket and have this dream of fulfilling their talent.

'You are away from media scrutiny and it's quite nice to take a break from that after seven years with England. It's a lovely role to have, I'm still trying to make a positive influence for English cricket and that's really nice.

'I was very committed as England coach to the cause and I'm lucky to have this job, still be involved and still doing my best for the English game.'

He talks with real enthusiasm about his charges among the second string, for example a batsman who appears set for his Test debut against Sri Lanka in the first international of the summer at Headingley on May 19.

'James Vince has captained the Lions the last two winters and he's been outstanding,' says Flower.

Flower is now reveling in his role as coach to the England Performance Programme and the Lions

Flower is backing James Vince to make an impact in the England middle order this summer

'Tactically he's very astute and very calm. His players like playing for him and he communicated very well with his bowlers.

'I think he's really started to enjoy the responsibility of captaincy and that's been great to see. That's very much part of our job, to give them these experiences.

'He made a great start this season with Hampshire up at Yorkshire making a hundred in a tough situation against a good attack, one that's used to winning.

'That bodes well for him and he's learnt a lot about himself over the last few years. I'd be surprised if he's not pushing hard for selection for that first Test.'

Then there is the prospect we watched bowling at the Oval, the elder son of a man Flower knew well in his fellow Zimbabwean, the late Kevin Curran.

'I love working with Tom Curran,' says Flower. 'He is a breath of fresh air, good fun with tons of energy and aggression and positivity.

'I think he could be a top-class all-rounder. I've seen a bit of his brother Sam and he too could be a top all-rounder.

Stuart Broad celebrates with James Taylor after dismissing South Africa captain Hashim Amla in Cape Town

'I wouldn't be surprised if both of them played for England at some stage but we will see.

'Kevin would be very proud of the way they're handling themselves and he'd love to watch them playing the way they're playing.'

Flower himself is thoroughly enjoying the way the new vibrant young England team are playing now, a team that have emerged from the ashes of those troubled times to reach the brink of greatness now themselves.

'It's a really exciting England team and they've selected exciting players,' says Flower. 'Players with plenty of power and it's a young, developing group too.

'One thing I like is that they obviously like playing with each other. It's nice to watch players having fun together and in a fun environment you learn quickly.

'You don't quite have the emotional involvement and commitment as when you're coach but I've loved what I've seen over the last year. We were huge underdogs in that Ashes last year and for the England side to come through as they did was magnificent.

'Then to go to South Africa and win was a great achievement. We went there a few years ago and drew 1-1 so we know how tough it is.

James Anderson celebrates the vital wicket of AB de Villiers during the fourth Test at the Centurion

'And they played such attacking cricket at the World Twenty20 and got in a position to win it. It all augers very well for the future.'

Flower admits he would be interested in coaching another international side in the future but not just yet, not when he has put the bad times behind him and is relishing his professional life again.

'Quite a few of the guys we've had have already progressed to the full England side and there are plenty more to come,' said the Lions coach.

'I wondered when I started coaching whether I'd get as much pleasure and pride out of it as I did as a player but without a doubt I have. And I'm sure I will get as much pleasure out of coaching at this level as I did with the full side.

'Yes I'd like to have another crack at international level but that doesn't suit my family situation right now. I don't look too far ahead.