MUMBAI, Oct 23: Former England captain Geoffrey Boycott has called for Duncan Fletcher to be axed as coach following the side's comprehensive defeat to Australia in a Champions Trophy group match on Saturday.

“If you talk to people like John Wright and Bob Woolmer, successful coaches with a lot of experience, they will tell you that the job comes with a shelf-life. And Fletcher just reached the end of his,” Boycott wrote in Monday's Daily Telegraph.

England lost to India by four wickets in their opening match and were dismissed for 169 by Australia before losing by six wickets.

Zimbabwean Fletcher took over as coach seven years ago and the highlight of his career was guiding England to Ashes success last year after 18 years of Australian domination.

He is currently on a rolling one-year contract with the England board.

“I'm not saying he is a terrible coach. In fact, I think he has done a good job -- full marks to him for the way he made England's test team competitive after the dark days of the 1990s.

“But, after a while, I believe a coach runs out of new ideas and the players get comfortable and complacent with him.

He almost becomes too familiar and the players stop listening.”

England's one-day form has been poor for a while, particularly after injuries to a number of premier players.

The side lost 5-1 to hosts India earlier this year and were drubbed 5-0 by Sri Lanka at home before managing to draw 2-2 with visiting Pakistan.

The slump is a cause for concern, particularly with the World Cup a little over five months away.

“Fletcher's weakness has always been the one-day game, and there have been some madcap decisions here in India,” Boycott wrote.

“It is ludicrous that England have failed to bat through their 50 overs in either of their two matches to date.”

England take on West Indies on Saturday in their final group match with little chance of progressing to the semi-finals.—Reuters