Everything about Duncan Fletcher totally explained
» For the American Senator and lawyer, see Duncan U. Fletcher
Duncan Andrew Gwynne Fletcher OBE (born
27 September 1948) is a former
Zimbabwean cricketer, former
captain of the
Zimbabwean cricket team and former coach of the
English cricket team. Fletcher is largely credited with rejuvenating the fortunes of the then flagging English team, with the team rising from bottom of the
Test rankings to second under his tenure as coach.
Early life
Fletcher was born in Salisbury,
Southern Rhodesia (now
Harare,
Zimbabwe) and was one of five brothers in a Rhodesian farming family described as 'ruggedly sporty'.
Career as player
Fletcher was Zimbabwe's first-ever
One Day International captain, leading them to their famous victory at the
1983 cricket World Cup over
Australia, winning the Man of the Match award for his individual performance . Fletcher also
captained Zimbabwe to victory in the 1982
ICC Trophy.
Career as coach
Under Fletcher the England cricket team achieved famous series victories away to Sri Lanka, Pakistan and South Africa between 2000-2004. In 2004 England won an English record equalling 7 consecutive tests, beating New Zealand 3-0 and West Indies 4-0 at home respectively. His most famous and largest achievement however came in September 2005 he became the first coach of the English team to win an
Ashes series for 18 years when England secured 2-1 victory over Australia.
On
13 September 2005 Fletcher was awarded British citizenship after a five year wait. Although both his parents and all his grandparents were ethnically English, for example, of English/British descent, Fletcher had been denied citizenship by virtue of the fact he spent most of his time abroad - touring with the England team. After the Ashes series win of 2005, the Home Secretary,
Charles Clarke, intervened to award Fletcher his long-sought citizenship .
Fletcher received heavy criticism from all quarters after preferring
Ashley Giles to
Monty Panesar as England's main spinner in the first two Tests of the
2006-07 Ashes series; Giles took three wickets in two Tests, while Panesar, when given the chance in the third Test, took five wickets in the first innings and three wickets in the second innings. Following defeat to Australia by 206 runs in the third test on
18 December 2006 which saw England relenquish the Ashes 15 months after gaining them, the
England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed that Fletcher's position as head coach was under review. Despite a brief reprieve in early 2007 when England won the
Commonwealth Bank Series, Fletcher came under increased criticism as England performed poorly in the
World Cup, which culminated in a nine wicket loss to
South Africa in which the team were booed off the field by England's Barmy Army. It was later announced, on
19 April 2007, that his 8 year tenure as coach was to end following England's final
Super 8 match against the
West Indies on Saturday
21 April 2007.
England's test record improved almost as soon as Fletcher took over in 1999, however the fortunes of the one-day side plummeted under Fletcher and ironically the only major success in one day cricket under the Fletcher era came a mere three months before his exit, as England won the Commonwealth Bank Series by defeating Australia early in 2007.
Trivia
Fletcher's sister,
Ann Grant captained the
Zimbabwe women's
field hockey team which won the gold medal in the
1980 Summer Olympics in
Moscow.
His brother,
Allan Fletcher, played seven first-class games for
Rhodesia in the late 1970s.
Fletcher played a key role in the much publicised Vaughngate controversy in the 2005 Ashes defeat by Australia. Some pundits say that the selectors and English public never forgave him and this played an integral part in the ECB's decision to sack him in 2007.
In 2005 Fletcher became the first coach of the England cricket team to win an Ashes series against Australia for 18 years, with England winning the home series 2-1. However in the return series just 16 months later, Fletcher led England to their first Ashes whitewash (5-0) defeat since the 1920/21 tour of Australia.
In November 2007 Fletcher confirmed that he was considering a switch to rugby, stating "I'd like to be a rugby consultant. I've some ideas...I love my rugby, I'd rather watch rugby than cricket. I'm passionate about it, it's the game I'd like to have been involved in."
On 5th November 2007 Fletcher's autobiography 'Behind The Shades' was published.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Duncan Fletcher'.
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