As England prepare to do battle with India, Ed Kemp analyses the potential impact of a familiar face plotting the hosts’ downfall.
“It does seem a bit strange to be back here,” said Duncan Fletcher ahead of India’s opening tour match at Taunton. “It’s strange being back in this role. When I left England I didn’t think I’d be back involved in this way.”
After a troubled end to his highly successful tenure as England coach in 2007, the Zimbabwean took consultancy roles with Hampshire, South Africa and New Zealand but never intended to get back into an international hot seat on a full-time basis. After those stints though he “got the bug again” and got offered the India job – a role he found irresistible.
Now he’s plotting the downfall of the country he famously guided to Ashes success in 2005. Several of the current crop of England players began their international careers during Fletcher’s reign and he remains in contact with Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen. “I have talked to them on the phone since taking the job on odd occasions – not always about cricket,” he said. “They are good friends.”
It will be strange for both parties. Strauss, speaking ahead of his hugely successful outing for Somerset, said he remains grateful to Fletcher for his role in advancing his own career. “I’ve got a huge regard for Duncan as a man and as a coach,” said the England skipper. “He was an integral factor in me changing from a promising county player into a fully fledged Test player. It is great to see him have the opportunity to coach India.”
It has been floated that Fletcher’s intimate knowledge of the England dressing room and the players’ techniques could prove a crucial factor in the series. But the man himself has played down the significance of his past, reminding people that “the team has changed quite a bit” since 2007, and it’s true there are several England regulars with whom Fletcher has had little or no contact. But not having coached Adam Gilchrist or Matthew Hayden didn’t prevent him hatching devastating plans for those titans in 2005. For a cricket mind of such technical and analytical astuteness as Fletcher’s, a video tape will suffice.
Strauss claims to be unconcerned by Fletcher’s potential influence on the series. “I don’t think he is going to tell them anything they don’t know about us. The planning aspect of the Test series is important but not nearly as important as players going out and performing under pressure. The key with all these plans is to administer them in the middle.”
‘The Fletcher Factor’ adds a further layer of fascination to what already promises to be an intriguing series and one that could bring about a major change in the world rankings. If England win the series by two clear matches, they will usurp India as world number one. But although reaching the top of the international table is England’s stated goal, the captain was careful to emphasise that in the short term, beating India is all his team is focusing on.
“It is always dangerous to look too far ahead. We’ve always said it is our ultimate goal to become the number one side in the world but that is not something we need to focus on particularly. We will only get there by playing good cricket consistently. It is one thing to be number one in the rankings, it is another to be acknowledged all around the world as the number one side and that is a far longer term goal.”
Taking on a team decorated with some of the game’s all-time greats – some of whom are making their last visit to England, including Sachin Tendulkar who is pursuing his hundredth international hundred – the hosts have enough to occupy them without worrying about the Test rankings. With England’s home advantage and both sides so high on confidence, this promises to be a competitive and compelling series. It’s all set up for a classic.
Click here to read Duncan Fletcher’s High Five during his time as England coach.
