India A vs England Lions | Lions coach Andy Flower feels that any tour of India is a great experience

India A won the second unofficial Test by an innings and 68 runs as the visiting England Lions team was brought down on their knees in the space of just three days eventually giving India A a 1-0 series victory.

“Any tour of India is a great experience and there were lots of learnings in those five weeks,” he told The Hindu after the second unofficial ‘Test’.

The pitch used in the match wasn't one of those rank- turners but surely had much assistance to spinners rather than the quicks, with Indian spinners taking 13 of the 20 England Lion's wickets,

But Lion's pacer Zak Chappell stood out with a brilliant 4-60 in the first innings, to help his team restrict India A to a score of under 400. Talking about the track behaviour at the SDNRW Grounds which hosted the second ‘Test’ between the two teams, he said seeing a pitch like this had been a good experience. 

“Zak Chappell bowled with good pace and we have seen him grow in confidence and skill in every game. We also get to the know the other players and how they respond to pressure situations under foreign conditions. Like how the Indian coaching staff give their feedback to the selectors, the same goes for us,” he added.

Flower also pointed out that the ‘A’ tours are invaluable in providing the bridge between First Class, domestic and international cricket. 

“I think the programmes between the ‘A’ sides are quite important. For the Indian youngsters who toured England last year for the `A’ series, it must have been a good experience. The more they tour the better will they shape up,” he added.

“Guys like Sam Billings and Ben Duckett (England Lions) would have wanted to score heavily in the series and put themselves in the forefront of the selectors mind. Sometimes it does not work but at the end they would get to be knowledgeable and wiser,” Flower concluded.