BARBADOS: CRICKET: Fletcher tells of pleasures and pains as England cricket coach

Fletcher, a 58-year-old Zimbabwean, told a news conference on Sunday (April 22) in Barbados he was open for any coaching offer after his spell with England ended in disappointment and boos from fans with a second-round exit at the World Cup in the Caribbean. Asked when how hard it was to leave his job after eight years, Fletcher answered: "It's difficult, there is no doubt about it. I enjoyed the job. I thought that I had a lot to offer. But there will be other things out there, I'm sure there will be," Fletcher told reporters in Bridgetwon. He said there had been no interest in his services yet despite vacancies in several leading cricketing nations, including Pakistan, but insisted he was not in danger of losing his inspiration. "I just said I think I got ideas I can help with. I really feel that as far as coaching is concerned I'm still forward thinking, I can think out of the box. And at the same time I have a skill where I can really get to basics and appreciate that some people need basic coaching which everyone does, every side needs it. So I think I can cover the full spectrum," he said. Fletcher, who tendered his resignation after England's World Cup exit was sealed following a nine-wicket defeat by South Africa on Tuesday, said "personal reasons" had sparked the decision but did not elaborate. "I see the reason for what's happened over the last year. But I think what happens is my reasons don't make a good story. You got to blame someone and that's the reason. You got to blame someone for it once you find the reason that you can blame an individual. My reasons were basically that we were a side that had a lot of injuries. It had not only been proven with our side, its been proven by other sides. Australia went to New Zealand with minus three and that's all you hear. They only lost because they were missing three key players. We go to Australia with three or four test series in Australia and that's not a reason. It's an excuse," he said. Fletcher felt England had the foundations to rebuild under new coach Peter Moores and captain Michael Vaughan, who scored 79 in a dramatic World Cup one-wicket win over West Indies on Saturday could be a turning point after a run of poor form. "There's no doubt about that. He showed it yesterday in all his skills. As a batter, as a bowler, and as captain. It's just a pity that it has taken a little bit long but the poor guy has been in and out of the side. There was huge pressure on him to come back as this guy was going to come back and continue where he was. That's huge pressure to take and to bear and to go in there with the pressure that he hadn't made runs, and he wanted to get that elusive hundred under his belt. It showed yesterday, the quality of the batter, and what he can do," he said. A 5-0 Ashes drubbing by Australia earlier in the season and the World Cup failure had left his position untenable. The highlight of his tenure from 1999 was a 2-1 Ashes home series win over Australia in 2005, England's first success for 18 years. "One thing you can say is that when I got the job not many people wanted it. Now everyone is clamouring for it." So that is probably a good indication." Before he finds another job, the departing coach is only thinking about spending some time with the family. "I do need a break. It is probably a month then I am sure my wife will be trying to kick me out of the house," he said.

ITN Source | April 23, 2007

Tags:. .reasons. .losing. .danger. .eight. .concerned