is it not time for duncan fletcher to get his coat?
2007-01-26 01:41:38 · 17 answers · asked by lion of judah 5 in Sports ➔ Cricket
'tis worrisome.
each time i think we've hit new lows they seem to be able to prove me wrong.
Other countries see "dig deeper" as find that extra reserve, that final piece of skill, wring the last from your enthusiasm.
We see it as digging a hole to hide.
Still love cricket though, eh ?
Where are all the last ashes celebrators ? Perhaps me thinks they were fairweather fans.
2007-01-26 01:53:10 · answer #1 · answered by Michael H 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Both finchleyjohn and Paddy B make excellent points. I think England cannot get out of Australia fast enough and the players seem to just be waiting for an opportunity to play someone, anyone, else! It's akin to a football side going in at half-time 2-0 down, conceding a third just after the break and then just going through the motions - the game is over, it's just a matter of how many the winning side can be bothered to score. The Aussies are far different to most football sides in this respect as they do not let the boot off the neck. England may be all gloom and doom at the moment, and I suspect we will do badly in the World Cup as we're basically poo at ODIs, but I would be shocked if we don't win both Test series this summer, and we should do it at a canter.
2007-01-27 10:27:01 · answer #2 · answered by igorolman 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have been following and writing about sport for a long time and cannot recall a precedent in any sport of England's fall from grace in international cricket. My theory is that the key event was the fifth day failure in the Adelaide Test match. I was at the ground and was stunned to see how all of the batsmen froze on a wicket and against an attack that they had dominated for the first two days of the match. I think that the fifth day failure traumatised the team so much that it was like a family bereavement from which it takes a very long time to recover. As things got worse in the next three Tests the mindset of the players was so disturbed that they have been almost in a trance state, and they are still in it. Success breeds success, and failure (in England’s case) sure does breed failure. But I still seek an example of a professional sports team that has so been traumatised that they have been absolutely unable to recover.
Ironically the structure of the ODI tournament in Australia is such that England could still win it! In the highly unlikely event that this happens they could then go on to win the World Cup. Why? Because if they do pull themselves together and have a success v Australia to celebrate then the momentum could carry the team on. The chances of this happening are minuscule – but hope springs eternal
2007-01-26 10:59:05 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
Not sure but i know this is the worst one day side ive ever seen and maybe Duncan fletcher should have got out after the Ashes victory in england,he was on a hiding to nothing after that.
2007-01-28 09:51:20 · answer #4 · answered by hellraisersteve 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think this question needs to be looked at in 2 separate parts - the test side and the one-day side.
The problems with the test team can largely be attributed to matters of complacency and lack of confidence in players coming through. Under Fletcher (with Hussain and then latterly Michael Vaughan as his captain) England turned themselves from a second-rate nation who couldn't win away, played attritional cricket and last to the aussies before the toss into the 2nd best team in the world, playing with style and confidence, with a number of players counted among the best who could and would stand up to be counted. The Ashes tour was simply a tour too far - there were doubts over too many players (Giles, Trescothick, Flintoff, Anderson). We were also up against an exceptional team in Australia, one that will go down as one of the all-time greats in Cricket history.
The problem with one-day cricket is largely borne out of our Test success - a concious decision was taken by MCC to focus on improving our test fortunes, and this has been at the expense of a focus on the one day side. Thus there has been no continuity and all planning has been around the Ashes rather than the World Cup.
I agree that it is time for Fletcher to go, but he should be allowed the dignity of departing on his own terms.
I would plump for Tom Moody as his replacement, with changes to the selectorial structure, preventing the players representative having a say over selectorial decisions while on tour (Geraint Jones was the rep for the Ashes!!) and ensuring consistency whether home or away.
It's not pretty at the moment, but there is an underlying quality in the English game that will see us bounce back from this winters setback.
2007-01-26 09:58:10 · answer #5 · answered by finchleyjohn 2 · 4⤊ 1⤋
No, the problem goes back to the last Ashes series. Instead of thinking we were lucky to beat the Aussies this time, you rubbed a jammy win in their faces by giving out Knighthoods, having street parties and the PM having them in for tea. You did the geeing up of the Aussies for them. I can remember the Edgbaston and Old Trafford Tests and I have to say, how the Aussies didn`t win those matches is still a question I ask myself. If Warne had 20 more overs, I have no doubt that he would have won the Oval test single handed. Don`t blame the coach, blame the culture that created the beast.
2007-01-27 16:53:36 · answer #6 · answered by Cardinal Folly 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
We got over excited because of the Ashes victory.
The Aussies where too confident and for once we responded as a team. Happens occasionly.
We have some really godd players but no real great shining stars so we can't really expect to conquer the globe cricket wise. Just not a popular sport in the UK anymore so we don't get teh kids coming theough.
2007-01-26 09:46:50 · answer #7 · answered by Bohdisatva 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
the cricketers made the same mistake the rugby team did when they won the world cup, they stated to believe all the hype in the press and thought they were the best, ticker tape open top bus parades, when what they should have done is build on the wave of publicity and started planning for the future.
2007-01-26 11:01:10 · answer #8 · answered by thegolfingjunkie 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Troy Cooley was the reason we won the ashes. He got all the bowlers to a peak of performance never seen before - when have England ever had 4 pace bowlers all taking 20+ wickets in a series???. When the ECB failed to sign him up at the end of his contract, they shot all the pacemen in the foot.
2007-01-26 13:32:09 · answer #9 · answered by Speyman 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
We were under-prepared, and played too many players who were unfit.
We got exactly what we deserved in The Ashes, and now we are desperately scrabbling around for the right mix of players for the world cup. We have no chance - we may as well not bother turning up
2007-01-26 09:51:35 · answer #10 · answered by Bloytini 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋