|
|
|
| December 20, 2006 | Wednesday | Ziqa'ad 28, 1427 |
Fletcher wants to keep job despite heavy loss
PERTH, Dec 19: Duncan Fletcher wants to stay on as England coach despite his team's heavy Ashes defeat but plans to reconsider his long-term future over the next six months.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said Fletcher's position would be reviewed after next year's World Cup in the West Indies.
Fletcher told a news conference on Tuesday that he wanted to remain in charge through to the World Cup but would consider all his options after that.
“I'll just make up my own mind,” he told reporters. “It might be a move in six months. But I'll make up my mind.
“I'll have a look at where I've been and where I want to go...and I'll continue in that way.”
Fletcher has borne the brunt of criticism for England's below-par performances after they lost the first three Tests to surrendered the Ashes with two matches to spare.
Most of the criticism has centred around England's short preparation time and the makeup of the team, especially the selection of spinner Ashley Giles ahead of Monty Panesar for the first two Tests and the choice of wicket-keeper Geraint Jones instead of Chris Read.
But the 58-year-old Fletcher said the team's preparation and selections were not to blame for their defeat and everyone had to accept responsibility for the result.
“How do you measure whether they were under-cooked or over-cooked or whether it was the pressure or not the pressure?,” he said.
“The (selection) system has worked...this is the second series we've lost in 11 and we often hear out here, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
“There's blame on all us. Everyone has got to be blamed on how we performed, on how we selected.”
Meanwhile, Australian captain Ricky Ponting says he has buried the hatchet with Fletcher following his team's crushing win.
Magnanimous in victory, Ponting said he sought out Fletcher after Australia took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-Test series to regain international cricket's oldest trophy on Monday.
“I've got no hard feelings between Duncan and me,” Ponting said after the win.
“There were a few a few months ago, but there's none now.
“I went down into their rooms and shook all their players' hands and then I went back to ours and had a beer.”
Fletcher and Ponting clashed during the last Ashes series in England when the Australian skipper was run out by substitute fielder Gary Pratt in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge.
Ponting, who had complained about unsporting use of substitute fielders, unleashed a four-letter tirade at the England coach after he smiled at the batsman as he walked to the dressing room following the dismissal.
Ponting was fined 75 percent of his US$9,750 match fee for the outburst.
“Looking back now, that might have been the moment when it became clear England were going to reclaim the Ashes,” Fletcher later said in his book “Ashes Regained”.
Eighteen months on, Ponting has been hailed for his leadership and tops the Ashes batting statistics with 524 runs in three Tests.—Agencies
|
|
|
|
