Andy Flower coy about his long-term future with England ahead of Ashes series in Australia later this year

“I don’t look that far ahead to be honest,” he said. “You never know what’s just round the corner in sport.

"I do take the responsibility that the England and Wales Cricket Board have given me very seriously and I’m supposed to make a difference to English cricket in a positive way. I’ll continue to do that.”

For starters he will want to see who the ECB appoints in Hugh Morris’s place as managing director of England cricket, after Morris handed in his resignation on Monday

Flower worked well with Morris, who is to become Glamorgan’s chief executive in the new year, and while it was felt that their relationship had perhaps run its course a while ago, he will want to see what rapport he has with the new incumbent when they are appointed.

The return Ashes series concludes next January after which England play no Test cricket overseas for the remainder of the year as the focus shifts to the 2015 World Cup.

The result of that Ashes series could be crucial and some believe Flower will have a job keeping the team together as several senior players may seek to retire from international cricket.

“I don’t think that will happen,” Flower said. “There will always be movement because it’s a competitive environment and we select the side we think will have the best chance of winning a match or series.

"In that regard it’s quite a ruthless world. No one’s there forever, no matter how great a player is, or however great an MD is, or however a coach is going. We all move on.”

The splitting of the role into Test and one-day cricket, with Ashley Giles taking day-to-day control of the latter, was done at Flower’s behest in order for him to achieve a better work-life balance, which was out of kilter with him being away from his young family for up to 250 days a year.

It was also done to increase his longevity in the job, with the ECB readily agreeing to the split role last December.

Yet that split, a difficult thing for an avowed control freak like Flower, is likely to be tested next year when there are no overseas Test matches after Jan 7.

Although not one to wallow in plaudits, Flower did miss out on overseeing England’s first 4-0 Ashes victory after the umpires called the game off for bad light when they needed 21 runs off 24 balls.

Views on the umpires’ decision have varied wildly, but while Flower did not really blame them, he was critical of the International Cricket Council, whose change to the playing conditions placed such decisions solely in the hands of umpires.

“We have spoken to the ICC a number of times over the years and while I can’t speak for the ECB, the description in the regulations of how they judge bad light I think is poorly written,” Flower said.

“The emphasis is on safety and very rarely is there a safety issue out in the middle.

"In my personal opinion it should be either a very strict reading on the light meter where there is a universal reading they could adhere to, or it should be about the fairness of the balance of the contest between bat and ball.

“I thought it was a very tricky situation last night because it was so close to a conclusion and the responsibility to entertain the people that were in the ground and watching on television has to be taken seriously.

"Did they get it right? Ask them.”

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Ashes 2013: Australia face further misery as seamer Ryan Harris faces fitness battle ahead of winter Test series

Harris, 33, was Australia's man of the series in the recent Test tour of England - claiming 24 wickets at 19.58 in four matches.

That was the first time he has ever played four Tests in a row due to a career-long battle with fitness problems.

Indeed, he has worn the Baggy Green just 16 times since his debut in March 2010 despite being considered one of his country's most incisive bowlers and boasting a superb record.

A Cricket Australia statement read: "Ryan Harris injured his right hamstring during the latter part of the second innings on the fifth Ashes Test. He had to leave the field and did not return to the game as he was unable to bowl.

"He was assessed after arriving back in Australia today and is expected to be unavailable to play for the next 6-8 weeks."

He was left out of this summer's Ashes opener at Trent Bridge but was arguably the most consistent pace man from either side after his belated arrival in the Lord's Test.

Speaking after taking five wickets in his first innings of the series, Harris said his ambition stretched only as far as flying home with his team-mates when the time came, rather than alone with yet another injury.

He managed that in the end, but only just. He was forced to watch the thrilling climax to the final Test from the dressing room at the Kia Oval having felt his hamstring tighten.

The first Test in Brisbane begins on November 21, leaving Harris with limited rehabilitation time should his recovery be completed as expected.

It is the latest in a succession of fitness issues among Australia's talented pace division, with Pat Cummins, James Pattinson and Jackson Bird all being struck down with back injuries in the last few weeks.

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Ashes 2013: last day incidents must serve as a warning to England ahead of the next series in Australia

If England keep winning it will be quickly forgotten. But if they go to Australia and lose there are some who will point the finger and say they were arrogant when they won in England and urinating on the wicket was an example of them starting to lose discipline.

It is ridiculous but episodes like that put a team under pressure. They have dealt with it well all summer and I believe they will deal with it again.

The bigger issue for cricket is the mess over bad light. The ending was a complete farce.

It is time the International Cricket Council realised this bad light rule has to change. They were lucky it was not 1-1 or 2-2 with 26,000 people angry at the fact England had lost the chance to win the Ashes.

I can only imagine what could have happened in that situation. The ICC has to apply common sense to bad light decisions. Ask themselves how many times over the last 25 years someone has been hurt when the light has dipped?

The only thing that can be hurt is someone’s average and it is not up to the ICC to protect statistics. I do not think anyone is in danger physically these days with all the modern protection batsmen wear.

I agree the ICC had to take the decision out of the hands of the batting side because they used it to their own advantage at times.

The umpires have to make the call but when the lights are on they should stay on, particularly if the over-rate has been slow and forced play to continue into the evening.

As soon as you use lights at Test matches you have to accept they are part and parcel of match conditions, a bit like batting when it is cloudy and the ball starts swinging.

You might have to bat in a bit of dim light late at night but that is just bad luck.

I think the umpires were quietly trying to get away with it on Sunday.

They did not consult the light meters until it had gone way beyond the point when they knew they would have to go off.

You could see Michael Clarke pushing for them to get the meters out.

He is within his rights to do that. But we have got to look at the bigger picture.

It is an entertainment business. How do you explain to a young boy that the game has reached the last four overs but we cannot finish it off even though the lights are on?

The odd fielder has missed the ball but that sometimes happens in broad daylight. Cricket is competing with too many sports and other things in life.

We have to make sure we do everything we can to stay out on the pitch at all costs.

It was a very proactive declaration from Clarke. I do not think he ever really expected to take 10 wickets in 44 overs but he also thought England would not go for the runs and the crowd would turn on them.

But England came out with a positive intent and showed why they deserved to win the series 3-0. They again played better in a big moment than Australia.

Against an Australia team who have not won all year England knew they just had to hang in and wait for an opportunity, which arrived on the final afternoon.

England have the experience to win key moments but Australia are in a lot better shape than at the start of the series.

They have nailed down 10 of their 11 for the start of the next series in Brisbane. If England play in Australia the way they have in this series, for example the batsmen not passing 400 once, they will lose.

Sure England will regroup. You celebrate winning the Ashes but there comes a moment when you realise you have to move on to the next challenge.

And the next one is bigger than it was in 2010-11 because the Australians are better.

Losing Hugh Morris as managing director of the England and Wales Cricket Board is a blow for England. He has done a tremendous job behind the scenes.

There are stories about Andy Flower going too. As a player, once you start thinking about retiring or moving on you lose around five per cent of your edge.

I don’t know what it is like for a coach but I like Flower when he has an edge. That is when he is at his best.

England behaving badly

Monty Panesar

England’s second-choice spinner was fined by police when he was caught urinating on nightclub bouncers after being thrown out of a club in Brighton earlier this month. He has since been sacked by Sussex and was overlooked for the fifth Ashes Test, with fellow slow left-armer Simon Kerrigan playing instead.

Andrew Flintoff

The all-rounder was stripped of the vice-captaincy and banned for a game after he capsized a pedalo and got into difficulties in the water in the early hours of the morning in St Lucia. He was one of six players fined by England for the incident, which occurred after they lost a World Cup match against New Zealand in March 2007.

Ian Botham

After admitting to smoking cannabis in a newspaper interview, Ian Botham was banned by England for two months in 1986, but within 12 balls of his return against New Zealand he had surpassed Dennis Lillee as the world’s leading Test wicket taker.

Matthew Hoggard

After England’s all-night session when they won the Ashes in 2005, Matthew Hoggard was not in the best of states when he arrived at a Downing Street reception the next day. “We left Downing Street and there were a lot of photographers,” Hoggard recalled. “He [Tony Blair] said: ‘What do they want?’ So I looked at him and said: ‘A photo, you knob!’?”

Mike Gatting

Before Andrew Strauss, Mike Gatting was the last England captain to win a series in Australia, but the following year, 1988, he was in hot water after two tabloids claimed he had enjoyed a “late-night romp” with barmaid Louise Shipman. He vigorously denied the claims, but said he had taken her to his hotel room for a drink. He was sacked as a result.

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Jets place Holmes on PUP list ahead of training camp

The Jets have officially placed Santonio Holmes on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list in anticipation of training camp. The move was expected as Holmes is still recovering from a Grade 4 Lisfranc injury he suffered last season against the 49ers on Sept. 30.

Holmes, 29, recently would not commit to being ready for the season opener, so it’s no surprise that he’ll be out for at least the beginning of training camp. He can be taken off the PUP list at any point during camp if he’s able to participate in practice.

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“I don’t have a target date,” said Holmes at uSTADIUM’s Flags for Foundations flag football tournament on Roosevelt Island Saturday. “I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize myself being ready for the season.”

Holmes had been running on a non-weight-bearing treadmill about three times per week he said Saturday, but his football activity had been minimal and was just to give the trainers a sense of his movement.

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The Jets open their season against the Bucs, setting up a juicy Holmes vs. Darrelle Revis matchup. Revis seems to be on track to play that day, after having been cleared by the Bucs, but Holmes will have a longer road to health.

“It’s just getting back into the swing of walking and running without any pains from having scar tissue build up around the injury,” Holmes said Saturday.

The Jets arrive in Cortland on Thursday and have their first practice Friday.

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