Should Duncan Fletcher resign?

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"There used to be a bloke who gave himself out by walking when he'd hit the ball. The popularity of that within his team-mates may be shown by the fact that since his retirement, they no longer reply to any emails, phone calls or text messages."
Adam Gilchrist gives a tongue-in-cheek response to his own philosophy of 'walking'

Oct 12, 2008

By Will 2 years ago, at the start of December Leave a comment on this post

Batten down the hatches, we’re in the eye of a storm here! It’s all going very wrong for England so, in the spirit of scapegoattery, let’s start picking them off. And what better way to start than with a poll? Leave a comment on whether you think Duncan Fletcher should stay or go, and cast your vote below

(If you’re reading by RSS, click here to vote at the site)

{democracy:27}

Tags: adelaide, ashes, disaster, duncan-fletcher, england, england-in-australia, poll, the-ashes |

Comments to “Should Duncan Fletcher resign?” Tom wrote:
December 6th, 2006 at 9.23 am

I said ‘It depends on the final result’.

If England do lose this series, and are embarrassed in the meantime, then radical change in team management, starting with Duncan will occur. Then again I doubt he should shoulder all of the blame; selectors must take most of it for their persistance with conservative options, which has so far backfired. The coach and captain have imput, but ultimately it comes down to the board.

If he does leave, the question posed is who would replace him?

Stu wrote:
December 6th, 2006 at 9.50 am

I say “No”, he should resign…Now!

Lauriebravo wrote:
December 6th, 2006 at 10.24 am

So after tuesdays dismal collapse it appears Flintoff and the boys need our help,

Support the English cricketers by whackin’ the Aussies about a bit!

Click Here to Play ASHES BASHES

Caroline wrote:
December 6th, 2006 at 11.40 am

But why do we need to make scapegoats, Will? What is it about sitting with the knowledge that the team played like crap, that makes us want to blame everyone else and find the ‘ultimate solution’? Just cop it sweet, as they say over here. They played like crap for the last day of a five day match. Had other players been selected, they may also have played like crap. Had a different coach been selecting and coaching, they may still have played like crap. There is no magical solution; no quick fix - the players selected have to play better, and sustain it for five days. End of story. We don’t need to go around blaming, fixing and trying to get away from that awful feeling that our team played like crap. Just accept it and move on. So what if we are not playing as well as the Australian team at the moment? We have before and we will again soon, but it just didn’t happen this time. That puts us in the same boat as the rest of the cricket-playing world, yes? And there’s not that much shame in that. Is the sky falling in? Right then - get it in perspective, guys, and stop contributing to the mass media hysteria that the end of the world is nigh. I still wore my England shirt to the shops after work today, and I don’t even think one person smirked . . .

Qooey wrote:
December 6th, 2006 at 12.00 pm

if you’re nutty about quicket then check Quickflix for list of DVDs to rent or own at http://www.quickflix.com.au/cricket

Mike wrote:
December 6th, 2006 at 1.22 pm

How utterly ridiculous that people should even consider Fletcher resigning. I can only assume these people have only just discovered the game of cricket in the last 15 months.

It was only a few years ago that Australia were contemplating reducing the England series to three matches because we simply weren’t competing. Duncan Fletcher has been instrumental in turning the team around. Sure he’s made some mistakes on this tour but sack him?

Ridiculous.

Macgyver wrote:
December 6th, 2006 at 2.20 pm

I think he should go after the series, England need some fresh ideas at the top to continue their development. There are enough good young players around that England could have a realistic ambition of being the best side in the world, and I don’t see Fletcher with his negative approach getting the best out of them.

Irim wrote:
December 6th, 2006 at 2.42 pm

Mike,

Duncan isn’t a scapegoat; he’s the man at the top - the buck stops there. If he can’t take responsibility for his mistakes and refuses to learn from them - as he is clearly doing now - then he’s in the wrong place and has gone from being a coach instrumental in rebuilding a side to a coach who is impeding growth and refusing to help the team develop and will never get the best out of them. He’s too risk averse for the talent we have. He needs to be flexible and be able to adapt as the situation demands it. We’re at a different stage of team development and need a style of coaching that acknowledges that. He can’t. He’s too negative and needs too much control. . Part of what makes the Aussies great is their sheer love of the game and their pleasure in playing it and their willingness to believe that anything is possible…which leads them to take risks our team would only dream of. There’s precious little love of the game on the English side - it looks like a day at the office.
So maybe the people wanting Fletcher to resign have been watching cricket just as long as you have, but have come to a different conclusion whilst watching things unfold.

Andy wrote:
December 6th, 2006 at 3.25 pm

The England club is too cozy. Lovely Mr Fletcher plays his favourite boys ahead of those who deserve to be in. It needs shaking up and someone capable of taking tough decisions put in place.

Just a thought, after last summer’s Ashes success, expectations are now unrealistically high. Is the England coach’s job now as untenable as that of the England football manager? Who fancies a turnip!

Mike wrote:
December 6th, 2006 at 3.38 pm

Andy hits the nail squarely on the head. The expectation levels are unrealistically high.

I’m not saying that Fletcher has got it right in this series. Far from it. The decision to play one of his favourites - Giles - will probably prove to be the deciding factor in the destination of the Ashes.

However, the mentality of sacking a winner the second they make a mistake is what has caused the problems with both English football and rugby. We can’t go down this route with our cricket.

cricketgirl wrote:
December 6th, 2006 at 3.39 pm

I would like to say “let’s wait and see what the result is…”
but even if (miracles can happen, right? Please?) we draw the series, and he stays on, he has badly let down all cricket lovers and the players, and will have to change his strategy. He refuses to justify his decisions, or his justifications are, at the very least, specious. His refusal to accept responsibility (and to explain his appalling decisions) just makes it seem like he treats the players with utter contempt…if they are not on his Christmas card list, anyway. And this is something he really has to work on.

To blame the defeat on the batsmen is fine, but clearly his “strategy” of playing “better” batsmen in Jones and Gilo is failing. Fair enough, he couldn’t tell that in advance (hindsight is a wonderful thing) but the whole idea behind the decision is flawed. I’m with Irim on this one: he is too risk-averse for our team, at least when playing the Aussies. We saw it last year, when Warne never gave up on a victory, and came too close for comfort, so it’s not like it was a surprise, and we have seen it again.

Playing Gilo for his batting/fielding in addition to bowling? Leaving out Panesar if you are playing one spinner for an average of 10 rather than 20? Dropping Jones as he needs to improve his batting, and then dropping Read, basically because he isn’t Jones? Come on, Fletcher, these are not good reasons. You must have better ones than these.

Sorry, I realise this isn’t very coherent, I am still in denial…acceptance next, THEN the anger. Not going to be pretty! Unless we get a nice innigs defeat of the Aussies in Perth…

Ollie wrote:
December 6th, 2006 at 6.16 pm

I’ll wait to see his reaction to the current goings on before I judge. If the same XI are named for the next test, well…

We must remember that England were not widely tipped to retain the Ashes anyway. I guess a terrible day at the office has set temperatures running high.

On the other hand, consider our One-day form. If this series is lost (and we can safely say it is), and if (when) we do terribly at the World Cup, I think a change of personel will be very much on the cards.

Kathy wrote:
December 6th, 2006 at 9.41 pm

Here, here, Caroline, couldn’t agree more.

There’s more negativity in the England fans and cricket pundits than in Duncan Fletcher.

Michael from Brisbane wrote:
December 7th, 2006 at 5.34 am

I hope not.
I quite like his intelligent prognostications about Warne’s bowling. A super talent. You are lucky to have him.

Francis wrote:
December 7th, 2006 at 9.42 pm

Sacking Fletcher is not the answer. He has done so much for English cricket over the past few years,and brought us on as a team fantastically. OK, I wish he had picked Panesar, and why stick with Jones instead of Read? But that would not have changed the horrible 5th day at Adelaide. Just lay off the criticism of him, everyone, and let them get on with trying to beat the strongest team in the world in their own backyard.

Kato Cruwys Harris wrote:
December 14th, 2006 at 8.48 am

So Panesar’s destroyed the Aussies on the first day at Perth. Isn’t it a wonderful feeling, to know we all have better cricket brains than Duncan Fletcher? Presumably he’s still biting his nails over the 20 runs he’s lost by dropping Giles. Let’s say nothing of the 300 runs he’s saved by selecting Panesar. It is the most hilarious, obvious gaffe by an England boss for a decade or more.

paramatma wrote:
December 16th, 2006 at 8.59 pm

Fletcher has got to go. Everyone makes mistakes but it takes courage to own up and learn from them. Unfortunately, Fletcher is not.

He was quoted today as saying that Monty succeeded because of the bounce at Perth but was not sure about the other two matches.

This is illogical as Brisbane too had just as much bounce as Perth. It is also fool hardy of Fletcher to think that Monty would have bowled any worse than Giles at Adelaide.

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Should Duncan Fletcher resign?