Duncan Fletcher blames luck for India’s dismal show against Australia

India’s coach Duncan Fletcher claimed that his side was unlucky against Australia during their first innings in the second Test of the four match series at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Tuesday, January 3, 2012. The tourists were bowled out for 191 runs, as none of their batsmen really got going. Skipper MS Dhoni was the top scorer of the innings, contributing an unbeaten 57 runs to the total, but there was not much support for him from the other end. If India go onto lose this match, this will be their sixth consecutive defeat in the longest format of the game on foreign soil. They were whitewashed by England in a four-match series played last year and suffered a 122-run loss against Australia in the ongoing competition.

Due to these poor performances on foreign soil, the critics have slammed the Indian players, especially the experienced ones, who have been unable to deliver results on wickets with assistance for bowlers. Amongst the star studded Indian top-order, Rahul Dravid was the only player who delivered against every opposition in 2011. However, his performances went in vain, as the team continued losing matches against quality sides. Despite all this, Fletcher backed his players, saying, “The mood in the dressing room has been very, very good. They're working very hard at nets, they're putting in the effort, they're trying their best. It's just sometimes in cricket we just need a little bit of good fortune.” The former English coach pointed out the mode of dismissal of the most successful Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar, saying that it was extremely unlucky. The veteran batsman attempted to drive a full delivery outside the off-stump, but dragged it onto the stumps. According to Fletcher, “How often would he (Sachin) play on from that width, more often than not he would have put that through the covers for four.... Sometimes it goes against you and sometimes it runs with you.” Last year, when the Men in Blue lost to England, they blamed lack of practice and fitness issues. However, they had all their regular players available for the Australian series and also played a couple of tour games in order to get used to the conditions.

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ADAM GILCHRIST CITES DUNCAN FLETCHER’S VAST COACHING EXPERIENCE AS ADVANTAGE FOR INDIA

Former Australian wicket-keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist has said that newly-appointed, Duncan Fletcher’s huge coaching experience will work as an additional advantage for the Indian side when they compete England later this year.

Wishing the former Zimbabwean captain best of luck for his term as a coach with the World Champions, the former Aussie opener stated that Fletcher holds extraordinary coaching skills.

"He has obviously got great skills as coach and all the players from his previous teams seem to be supporting him and saying it's a pretty good appointment. So I wish him all the best," Gilchrist said.

Gilchrist, however, avoided to respond to the question that whether Fletcher will be able to replicate the success he accomplished as England team’s coach.

After Gary Kirsten's exit, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) appointed Fletcher as Indian national coach for the next two years.

The decision has started a controversial debate about the suitability of a foreign coach for India. The legends like Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar slammed BCCI for appointing a foreign coach while the cricket maestros such as Wasim Akramand Nasser Hussain have been appreciating the decision.

Although, Duncan has never played Test cricket, he is credited of lifting English team to their historic 2005 Ashes series triumph.

Fletcher, who will not be able to join the Men in Blue in their upcoming tour to Zimbabwe because of his personal commitments. However he will with the team when India locks it horns with England later this year.

Gilchrist, who is leading Kings XI Punjab in the ongoing Indian Premier League, uttered that Fletcher was the best choice for the post as he holds a lot of coaching experience under his belt.

When asked to comment on the appointment of a 62-year old coach, Gilchrist stated, "I won't pass comments on his age. It's more what skill he brings and the level of enthusiasm. He had all that in abundance when he was coaching other teams."

Kings XI Punjab’s skipper further described that Fletcher has huge expectations to meet as Gary Kirsten left the Indian side after taking it to the peak of International cricket.

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Graeme Swann: Duncan Fletcher would have a tough job at hand in England

England’s premier spin bowler, Graeme Swann believes the new coach of World Champions India, Duncan Fletcher would have a real tough job on his hands when he brings the Indians to England for a test match and One Day International (ODI) series.

Fletcher, the former England coach was named India’s head coach last week and one of his former pupils, Swann thinks that despite knowing an awful lot about the English game, Fletcher still knows a lot less about the new English work ethic than he might like to believe.

The former Zimbabwe batsman took over the reins of the English team after the 1999 World Cup, he gradually built them into a world class team that won two extremely tough series in Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the turn of the century, his watershed moment was the triumph at home in the 2005 Ashes series.

The win was England’s first in the premier test match contest against their old rivals Australia in 17 years; however a string of poor results including a 5-0 whitewash against Australia in the 2006-2007 Ashes meant that the veteran had to give up the job.

On the other hand, the present English team has been on a roll in test match format. They were arguably at their best ever in the last Ashes series that finished at the start of the year in Australia, with the English scoring three resounding innings wins to wrap up a 3-1 series win.

Swann thinks that Fletcher would have to be on guard against the English team in the summer.

Swann told the Daily Telegraph, "Fletcher knows a few of our players better than some other coaches would. But there's a hell of a lot of our team he doesn't know at all. I think that will work to our advantage, because he might be trying to double guess us a little bit and come a cropper."

"It's nice for him to come back to England, because he's got a fine record with the England team. Now he will get a chance to pit his wits against this New England side during the summer," added the off-spinner.

Swann was introduced to the English team under the coaching of Fletcher; he made his ODI debut on the tour of South Africa in 2000.

However, Fletcher soon lost faith in the off-spinner, due to his poor disciplinary record. After being banished from the team, Swann had to wait as many as eight years for his test debut. However, the Englishman sympathized with Fletcher saying that he would have done the same if he was the coach then.

"If I was a coach 10 years ago, I don't think I would have picked me, and I wouldn't have particularly liked me being on that tour," Swann said. "I was just a young upstart tourist, and it was a good job I didn't play because I wasn't good enough."

Swann added that many English players have not been exposed to the Zimbabwean, especially the likes of batting mainstay Jonathan Trott and fast bowler Steven Finn; both made their debuts after Fletcher left.

All-rounder Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan and even Swann enhanced their reputation after his stint had ended, he though did concede that the Zimbabwean would have a handle on a few of the English players part of the present squad, yet he thinks that the hosts would have their bases covered when the tour begins.

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Pakistan's Wasim Akram backs Duncan Fletcher as the new Indian coach

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has come out in support of the newly appointed Indian coach Duncan Fletcher and said that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had taken a good step by choosing the former Zimbabwean captain as the new coach of the Indian team.

The BCCI announced this week that Fletcher would be the one to replace Gary Kirsten, who decided to call it quits after the successful World Cup campaign.

Akram, who is widely regarded as the best left-arm fast bowler in the history of the game, said that Fletcher was the best choice after Kirsten primarily because of his experience of coaching at the highest level of the game.

He said that his former team-mate and new ball partner, Waqar Younis had played under the coaching of Fletcher in county cricket, and expressed that Younis used to applaud the coaching abilities of Fletcher.

He said, "After Gary Kirsten, Fletcher is the best man to be India’s mentor. Fletcher is very experienced and has vast knowledge. Waqar (Younis), who played in Glamorgan when Fletcher was coach, praised his coaching skills a lot."

The appointment of Fletcher has been widely criticised in India as former greats Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar wanted an Indian to take over the job. However, Akram believes that it is always good to have a foreign coach for sub-continental teams, as they do not involve themselves into the internal politics of the team which is usually the case with Indian and Pakistani teams.

India are scheduled to tour England later this year and Wasim believes that Fletcher’s experience of coaching the English team will be extremely useful for India. The former left-arm fast bowler thinks that it will be tough for India to beat England on their home soil but Fletcher’s services would be handy there.

Akram told reporters, "Fletcher has done plenty of coaching in England, and he knows their players very well. Beating England at their backyard will be tough but Fletcher’s presence in the Indian dressing room will be a huge advantage."

There is a lot of talk in the media about the world champions' new coach but only time will tell what Fletcher has to offer to Indian cricket.

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John Buchanan lauds Duncan Fletcher’s coaching experience

Former Australian coach, John Buchanan, praised former England and South African coach, Duncan Fletcher’s, experience saying that he best suits to take up the Indian coaching post and may guide them better than his predecessor, Gary Kirsten.
"He's obviously got a pretty good track record on the international and county circuits, and he's got a pretty wide range of coaching experience", Buchanan said.
Buchanan, who is going to take over his new post as New Zealand’s director of coaching said that Fletcher has some similarities with the former Indian coach and holds plenty of coaching records. Earlier, Fletcher had brilliant coaching experience with the England team, guiding them to marvelous victories during 2000 to 2004.
The Zimbabwean born has been named as India’s new coach after Kirsten’s removal from the position on Wednesday. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary, N Srinivasan, revealed that Fletcher has been appointed for two years to coach the Indian team.
Fetcher was chosen from the lists of candidates which included former New Zealand player, Stephen Fleming, and Zimbabwean, Andy Flower.
Indians had some special memories with their former South Africa-born coach, Kirsten, who helped them clinch the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2011 title.
Despite having no prior coaching experience, Kirsten proved to be the most successful coach for India. During his three-year tenure, a considerable improvement was seen in all areas of Indian cricket including batting, bowling, and fielding.
He also helped the team in posting them at the top in the ICC Test rankings. In addition, the batting maestro, Sachin Tendulkar, and pacer, Zaheer Khan, also restored their form during his tenure.
With such achievements under their previous coach, the Indian team would now be expecting Fletcher to guide them in a similar manner so that they can maintain their form, taking on the hectic schedule ahead of them.
The new coach will start off his duties with the Indian’s tour of West Indies which will start in June. The tour includes a Twenty20, five One-Day Internationals and three Tests.
Following the West Indies tour, the Indian team’s hectic schedule would continue as they are next scheduled to start a longer tour of England which includes four Tests, a Twenty20 and five ODIs.

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Coaching 2011 Champions is a big challenge for Duncan Fletcher

India’s bowling coach, Eric Simons, claimed that he is looking forward to join Duncan Fletcher in the upcoming tour of West Indies and believed that it will be a big challenge for Fletcher to coach the World Champions.
The 49-year old South African, whose contract was extended by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday, expressed that he expected that Fletcher will bring innovation in the Indian team with some new ideas as he did with the England team during his coaching period with them.
The England team was in great form in 2004, by winning eight consecutive Test matches including the Ashes series of 2005 under Fletcher’s guidance.
Simons and Fletcher will both join the Indian team from the next month on the tour of West Indies.
While talking to the media, Simons said, "I have never worked with Duncan, so I am looking forward to working with him. I am sure he will bring in some fresh ideas to the team like he did during his English stint. But I think coaching the No.1 team in the world will be a real challenge for Fletcher".
Simons and his compatriot, the former Indian coach, Gary Kirsten, both played an important role in the Indian cricket team’s win in the 2011 World Cup after 28 years.
Simons also guided his players well in the recent tour of South Africa where the Indian team was successful to draw the Test series for the first time.
On the renewal of his contract, Simons said, “I had agreed in principle to continue as the bowling coach. Now that they have agreed to give me an extension, I have to sit down with them and discuss the nature of the contract and the tenure".
Simons also claimed that according to India’s structure in the world of cricket, his job is getting difficult.
"These are exciting and tough times for me. The last one year has been great for me and now the job has become tougher. The challenge will be to keep the team on top. The expectations are always high from World champions and living up to them will be a challenge for this Indian team", Simons explained.
Talking about the Indian bowling line up, Simons said that it is the Indian selector’s duty to decide which bowlers would be consistent in their performance. He explained that his job is to give confidence to the bowlers and further described that when one is confident one can run in and bowl quickly in good areas. He added that those bowlers who are performing well are consistent with their performance throughout the match or series.

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