Da_NeXt_PieTeRSeN
04-22-2007, 01:24 AM
Former England captain Ian Botham has urged the England and Wales Cricket Board to bring in Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody to replace the under-fire Duncan Fletcher.
Fletcher and skipper Michael Vaughan have come in for harsh criticism after the team slipped to a humiliating nine-wicket defeat to South Africa on Tuesday which ended their hopes of reaching the World Cup semi-finals.
The 41-year-old Australian Moody is Botham's choice to improve England's one-day fortunes after a performance in the Caribbean which he felt had "stunk the place out".
He wrote in his Daily Mirror column: "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.
"He has 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."
Moody would probably be a popular choice with many players, but he is wanted elsewhere.
The former Worcestershire all-rounder was in contention for the Australia job before dropping out of the race, but more pertinently is rumoured to be taking over as Western Australia for the next domestic season down under.
WA opener Justin Langer seemed to indicate as much when announcing his decision to step down as the state's skipper in early April.
Langer told Australian newspaper The Age:
"I spoke to Graeme Wood, the new chief executive at the WACA, and then I rang Tom and had a talk and it fell into place.
"When I found out Tommy was coming, it seemed the right time."
Meanwhile, another former England captain thinks that changes are needed at the very top of the game.
Geoffrey Boycott believes Mike Gatting is the "strong character" England need as chairman of selectors to pick up the pieces after the team's poor showing in the Caribbean.
Boycott, a long-time critic of Fletcher's capabilities as a one-day coach, hopes he will "see sense" and stand down in the next few days, and believes the team need a character like former England skipper Gatting to occupy the role currently filled by David Graveney and be the ultimate decision-maker in selection.
"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 his Daily Telegraph column.
"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 Vaughan as one-day skipper after a dreadful run of form, but believes he deserves another chance in the Test arena.
"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."
Fletcher and skipper Michael Vaughan have come in for harsh criticism after the team slipped to a humiliating nine-wicket defeat to South Africa on Tuesday which ended their hopes of reaching the World Cup semi-finals.
The 41-year-old Australian Moody is Botham's choice to improve England's one-day fortunes after a performance in the Caribbean which he felt had "stunk the place out".
He wrote in his Daily Mirror column: "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.
"He has 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."
Moody would probably be a popular choice with many players, but he is wanted elsewhere.
The former Worcestershire all-rounder was in contention for the Australia job before dropping out of the race, but more pertinently is rumoured to be taking over as Western Australia for the next domestic season down under.
WA opener Justin Langer seemed to indicate as much when announcing his decision to step down as the state's skipper in early April.
Langer told Australian newspaper The Age:
"I spoke to Graeme Wood, the new chief executive at the WACA, and then I rang Tom and had a talk and it fell into place.
"When I found out Tommy was coming, it seemed the right time."
Meanwhile, another former England captain thinks that changes are needed at the very top of the game.
Geoffrey Boycott believes Mike Gatting is the "strong character" England need as chairman of selectors to pick up the pieces after the team's poor showing in the Caribbean.
Boycott, a long-time critic of Fletcher's capabilities as a one-day coach, hopes he will "see sense" and stand down in the next few days, and believes the team need a character like former England skipper Gatting to occupy the role currently filled by David Graveney and be the ultimate decision-maker in selection.
"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 his Daily Telegraph column.
"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 Vaughan as one-day skipper after a dreadful run of form, but believes he deserves another chance in the Test arena.
"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."