Duncan Fletcher steps down as England coach

LONDON: The England and Wales Cricket Board on Thursday announced that Duncan Fletcher has tendered his resignation as the national coach.

The ECB said it has accepted Fletcher's resignation and he would be guiding the team for the last time on Saturday when England take on West Indies in their final ICC Cricket World Cup match in Bridgetown, Barbados.

Fletcher said he had made up his mind to resign during the course of the quadrennial event.

"I always said that I would review my position as England Coach nearer to the end of this winter. Earlier in the World Cup I came to a decision about my future and I discussed stepping down as head coach with the ECB prior to England's game against Bangladesh," he said in a statement from the ECB.

"I feel it is in the team's best interests over the long term that I should move on and seek a new challenge elsewhere.

"This has been a difficult winter for the team and for me personally, but I believe that my record as coach over the past eight years is one in which I can take great pride.

"I would like to thank all the players and the management team for their contributions, the ECB for its support and for giving me the opportunity to coach England; and the England fans for their ongoing support."

Earlier reports said Fletcher will quit as England coach after their last World Cup match against West Indies in Barbados on Saturday.    

Peter Moores, currently the England Academy coach, will take over on a temporary basis, said the report.   

David Morgan, the chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), is due to give a news conference in Bridgetown later Thursday to discuss the team's pitiful World Cup campaign which saw Michael Vaughan's side fail to reach the semi-finals.   

Fletcher, has been England coach since 1999 but has been under pressure since the winter when Australia reclaimed the Ashes in a 5-0 whitewash.   

England's exit from the World Cup was confirmed on Tuesday when they were defeated by nine wickets by South Africa who claimed the last semi-final spot as a result.   

The names of potential successors are already being thrown into the ring. Former England captain Ian Botham believes former Australia Test star and current Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody would be the ideal replacement.   

"Fletcher must go now. As the most powerful England coach of all-time - with the right to pull players out of county games and total control over the team's preparation - he must carry the can for this shambles," Botham wrote in the Daily Mirror. "He's done a fantastic job in the past with the Test side and we will forever be grateful to him for the 2005 Ashes triumph, but Fletcher has gone way past his sell-by date.   

"The next move is staring the ECB in the face: they should present Fletcher with the carriage clock, pay him off with heartfelt thanks for his contribution over the last eight years and go out and hire Tom Moody as his replacement.   

"Moody is a former World Cup winner with Australia, he has galvanised Sri Lanka and my guess is he'll be in the market for a job after the World Cup. Especially the England job."   

Another former England captain Geoff Boycott said that that changes are also needed at the very top of the game in England and nominated Mike Gatting as a new chairman of selectors.   

"Fletcher has always got what he wanted: that is the bottom line. Even David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, mumbles privately about some of the players Fletcher picks, but he is not prepared to stand up to him," Boycott wrote in the Daily Telegraph.   

"England need a stronger man in this job, someone like Mike Gatting, who should be responsible for picking the team and giving it to the captain and coach to get on with. That is the way the Aussies do it."   

Boycott also questioned the future of Michael Vaughan as one-day skipper after a dreadful run of form. Vaughan has never made a one-day international century.   

"Just look at Michael Vaughan, whose position will now have to be seriously considered," added Boycott.   

"You cannot keep your place in the one-day side just because you are a good captain, or because you look elegant at the crease, or even because you are playing well in the nets. A team of good-lookers won't win anything.   

"I would give Vaughan another chance in Test matches to see how he goes, but he still has to make runs. His leadership skills are his greatest asset, but even those will be eroded if he becomes a passenger within the side."