Mumbai: 
- Duncan Fletcher was born on September 27, 1948 in Rhodesia and raised in a family that comprised six children. All his four brothers played sport. Elder brother Colin excelled in cricket, hockey, rugby and squash.
- He captained Zimbabwe to an upset win over Kim Hughes' Australia in a 1983 World Cup game at Trent Bridge. Fletcher scored an unbeaten 69 before claiming 4 for 42 to send Australia crashing.
- In 1993, he became South Africa's domestic team Western Province's coach and met with immediate success, helping the team win the first-class and limited-overs competitions.
- Four years later, he was appointed coach of English county side Glamorgan. In his first year with them (1997), the county won the county championship - their first since 1969.
- After England's disastrous 1999 World Cup, Fletcher replaced David Lloyd as coach.
- His first series win as England coach came against Zimbabwe in 2000 on English soil.
- Later that year, he guided England to a series win over the West Indies for the first time in 31 years.
- Though England won in Pakistan (2000) and Sri Lanka (2001) during his tenure, Fletcher did not win a Test series in India.
However, he witnessed a drawn one-day series in the 2001-02 season when India lost the final game at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
- Fletcher reacted sharply to Sunil Gavaskar's criticism of his England team in 2002. The Indian batting legend opined that the English approach was a boring one for spectators. "Thank God it was a three-Test series and a five-Test one, for Indian cricket would have lost a great number of spectators seeing the fare dished out," Gavaskar wrote.
- In March 2004, England beat the West Indies 3-0 in the West Indies - the first time since 1967-68. Fletcher had the pleasure of seeing his pace attack of Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones do well.
- Fletcher may have had some memorable Test wins including the 2005 Ashes triumph, but he didn't help England become a major force in one-day cricket, their triumph in the 2006-07 CB Series Down Under notwithstanding.
- After the 2005 Ashes triumph, Fletcher failed in Australia 2006-07 when England lost 5-0. England lost the series in the third Test at Perth.
- Former England fast bowler turned journalist Angus Fraser called for Fletcher's head in the Schofield Report. Fraser was part of the review committee.
Fletcher wrote: "I am not sure media people should be on the committee at all, but Fraser justified it by saying that he wanted to help English cricket.
"That is all well and good, but is it really helping English cricket by calling for the head of the England coach three days before an important World Cup against South Africa (2007)? No, it is not."
- In his autobiography, Behind the Shades, Fletcher revealed that Andrew Flintoff turned up for a practice session in Sydney in 2006-07 Ashes tour under the influence of alcohol. "I've supported a lot of players and I supported Andrew but then he drank again at the World Cup after what had happened in Australia," Fletcher wrote.
- Fletcher's stint as coach of England ended with the 2007 World Cup. Since then, he has worked with South Africa and New Zealand.
- Duncan Fletcher was born on September 27, 1948 in Rhodesia and raised in a family that comprised six children. All his four brothers played sport. Elder brother Colin excelled in cricket, hockey, rugby and squash.- He captained Zimbabwe to an upset win over Kim Hughes' Australia in a 1983 World Cup game at Trent Bridge. Fletcher scored an unbeaten 69 before claiming 4 for 42 to send Australia crashing.
- In 1993, he became South Africa's domestic team Western Province's coach and met with immediate success, helping the team win the first-class and limited-overs competitions.
- Four years later, he was appointed coach of English county side Glamorgan. In his first year with them (1997), the county won the county championship - their first since 1969.
- After England's disastrous 1999 World Cup, Fletcher replaced David Lloyd as coach.
- His first series win as England coach came against Zimbabwe in 2000 on English soil.
- Later that year, he guided England to a series win over the West Indies for the first time in 31 years.
- Though England won in Pakistan (2000) and Sri Lanka (2001) during his tenure, Fletcher did not win a Test series in India.
However, he witnessed a drawn one-day series in the 2001-02 season when India lost the final game at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
- Fletcher reacted sharply to Sunil Gavaskar's criticism of his England team in 2002. The Indian batting legend opined that the English approach was a boring one for spectators. "Thank God it was a three-Test series and a five-Test one, for Indian cricket would have lost a great number of spectators seeing the fare dished out," Gavaskar wrote.
- In March 2004, England beat the West Indies 3-0 in the West Indies - the first time since 1967-68. Fletcher had the pleasure of seeing his pace attack of Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones do well.
- Fletcher may have had some memorable Test wins including the 2005 Ashes triumph, but he didn't help England become a major force in one-day cricket, their triumph in the 2006-07 CB Series Down Under notwithstanding.
- After the 2005 Ashes triumph, Fletcher failed in Australia 2006-07 when England lost 5-0. England lost the series in the third Test at Perth.
- Former England fast bowler turned journalist Angus Fraser called for Fletcher's head in the Schofield Report. Fraser was part of the review committee.
Fletcher wrote: "I am not sure media people should be on the committee at all, but Fraser justified it by saying that he wanted to help English cricket.
"That is all well and good, but is it really helping English cricket by calling for the head of the England coach three days before an important World Cup against South Africa (2007)? No, it is not."
- In his autobiography, Behind the Shades, Fletcher revealed that Andrew Flintoff turned up for a practice session in Sydney in 2006-07 Ashes tour under the influence of alcohol. "I've supported a lot of players and I supported Andrew but then he drank again at the World Cup after what had happened in Australia," Fletcher wrote.
- Fletcher's stint as coach of England ended with the 2007 World Cup. Since then, he has worked with South Africa and New Zealand.
Resource: http://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/features/specials/item/172677-all-the-you-wanted-to-know-about-fletcher
No comments:
Post a Comment