Fletcher steps down
So did he fall or was he pushed? I guess it doesn’t really matter in the end. I’m trying to work out if this is a good or bad thing. It was certainly inevitable. With the sad demise of Bob Woolmer, who would have been a great replacement, the candidates are thin on the ground. I’ve heard Tom Moody being bandied about. That would be just fine. And the academy coach too. No, no and thrice no. If you’re going to change, change, don’t promote from within.
I thought Fletcher was a fine coach. He took England from the test wasteland and made us no.2 in the world and Ashes winners, beating all-comers on the way and drawing series in the sub-continent. No mean feat. Things have gone astray in the last few months. If he made a mistake or two it’s all in not thinking far enough ahead, resting when he should have been pushing, allowing the players to think they’d ‘made it’. And in the one day arena, he/ECB clearly don’t understand the way the game is going. I think there is an argument for two coaches, and two teams. There will be overlap but what is obvious is that the two sides of the game are racing apart from one another very quickly. In the One Day arena, you just have to have players suited to the particular conditions of the day. You don’t have a fifth day when spin will be important. You have 100 overs on a pitch. Pick on that basis. Pick accuracy, not speed. Pick accumulators, not prodders.
And get Ian Botham to play some part. That man knows what he is talking about. Just don’t make him leave Sky’s team. That would be a big loss.
