Former Zimbabwe captain and England’s most successful coach in recenttimes, Duncan Fletcher almost sported a grin

Anand Vasu29-Nov-2001Former Zimbabwe captain and England’s most successful coach in recenttimes, Duncan Fletcher almost sported a grin. A man very obviouslycommitted to his work, Fletcher almost perpetually bears the look of aschoolmaster who has caught a schoolboy in the midst of somemischievous prank. After England’s first tour victory over an India’A’ side, Fletcher answered a variety of questions posed to him. Neversaying an extra word or entering into undue controversy, he kept hissights trained firmly on the most important matter at hand – thecricket.On England’s victory over India ‘A’:We pulled ourselves back well in this match. Even this morning it wasa tricky situation. If the India ‘A’ batsmen had gotten away from us,set a stiffer target, and put men around the bat for longer periods,it could have been pretty difficult. It wasn’t an easy wicket to baton. People like Nasser Hussain and Andrew Flintoff, who batted for abit, said that they never felt like they were really settled on thatwicket.On the wickets that the team has played on thus far:I believe the two wickets we’ve played on haven’t really been goodpreparation for any Test match. The first wicket was far too flat andlow, and our batters never got going. This is another wicket where thebatsmen really struggled.On whether the team management would lodge an official complaint onthe state of wickets:We don’t want to get into those sort of things. As I said, we are hereto play cricket. It is the same wicket for both sides, you know. Allwe can say is that it was not a good wicket to bat on.On Andrew Flintoff’s performance on arrival:To come here and bowl quick on a wicket like this was tremendous. Itis exciting to see, and he is beginning to show just how dangerous abatsman he can be. He can take the initiative away from the bowlers.He is a confident player; you can see it when it is his turn to bat,and he gets out to the middle very quickly. He is very positive andgood to have in the side.On the controversy of Virender Sehwag’s inclusion in the squad for thefirst Test:It is a slight distraction, but they are professional cricketers.There has been some mention of it in the changing rooms, but, no,there have not been any huge discussions. But then again, if that isthe kind of distraction that gets us a win, maybe we should have moresuch distractions and hopefully more wins. We have a difficult taskahead of us over here, and it is important that the guys think aboutthat. Sometimes things like this can rev a side up.On whether he has been in touch with the England and Wales CricketBoard (ECB) regarding the recent controversy:No, I haven’t really been in touch with Lord’s. As I said before, itis our job to play cricket, and that is what we will do. If the ECB’phones us and tells us to take the next flight back, we will do that.On how the England team has done thus far:The side has improved with every match. Today is the first day wehaven’t played in patches. We have done that so far. Except for theback end, where you are always under a lot of pressure, and the wicketwasn’t helpful. I think we played well today. We have improved.