Duncan Fletcher Blasts Australia

[howardj]

This will ensure a bit of an under-current of nastiness in the next Ashes series in 12 months time, I reckon.

 

[dinu23]

got to love that guy, Fletcher!
and Austrailans talking about the spirit of the game! that's rich!

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Not that surprising that Fletcher would come out with something like this really.

 

[BoyBrumby]

His new autobiography is being serialised in The Guardian. Obviously other papers have just seized on the juicy bits. Full articles:

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/cricket/story/0,10069,1595340,00.html

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/cricket/story/0,10069,1595336,00.html

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/cricket/story/0,10069,1595986,00.html

 

[Scaly piscine]

Nice one Duncan.

 

[Slow Love™]

I actually have some sympathy with his comments regarding Gilchrist and Ponting. I just think that kind of thing on the field is extremely poor. I have a high tolerance for behaviours that the ICC clearly doesn't (ie, some sledging, send-offs, etc), but that kind of challenging of the umpire on the field of play, is IMO, just not on. And this stuff isn't exclusively out of Fletcher's recollections - we've seen and heard much of this before. I think a lot of Aussie fans even thought that the fuss we made over "the spirit of the game" was more than a little precious.

He has to be kidding when he relates what motivated his smile at Ponting, though. The crap-eating (sorry, censor, but you know what I mean) grin he was wearing was probably worthy of Michael Douglas - and he's a master of the art.

 

[Barney Rubble]

I think he's perfectly justified in calling the Australian establishment "hypocrites" over the fair play issue - England have just won the Spirit of Cricket Award from the ICC, so that suggests the Aussies don't have a lot of support when it comes to the accusations they've thrown at England, and their questioning of umpires, appealling for everything in the hope of gleaning a mistake (even when they must surely have known it wasn't out), not walking when they're out (*cough* Ponting and Martyn at the Oval *cough*), and general demeanour was occasionally a little short of what it should have been. They certainly weren't well-behaved enough to accuse England of anything, even if they weren't exactly going around hitting spectators with their bats.

 

[aussie]

wait a go fletcher, now the next ashes series will be a war down under, cant wait

 

[chalky]

Barney Rubble I think he's perfectly justified in calling the Australian establishment "hypocrites" over the fair play issue - England have just won the Spirit of Cricket Award from the ICC, so that suggests the Aussies don't have a lot of support when it comes to the accusations they've thrown at England,

I wouldn't put too much credence in the Spirit of cricket award - Didn't New Zealand win it last year after Flemming's Pre-meditated "attack" on the Witness?

 

[sqwerty]

what a load of drivel.

He's kidding himself if he thinks Ponting and Gilchrist were out of line. Aggressive body language....turn it up???.......what does he expect?....Punter and Gilly to get on one knee?.... and as for Clarke - he spent half the test in bed and batted down the order. What more does he want?

Fletcher is a smug, dull, humourless tool who just got lucky his team were a handy bunch of cricketers who performed above all expectations. Otherwise he would be considered just another also-ran..........which he is.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Fair play with most of them. The one that I think he over-emhpasised was Gilchrist's "We're due a bad decision here soon, boys" comment. That's week-in, week-out sort of thing.

 

[Scaly piscine]

what a load of drivel.

He's kidding himself if he thinks Ponting and Gilchrist were out of line. Aggressive body language....turn it up???.......what does he expect?....Punter and Gilly to get on one knee?.... and as for Clarke - he spent half the test in bed and batted down the order. What more does he want?

Fletcher is a smug, dull, humourless tool who just got lucky his team were a handy bunch of cricketers who performed above all expectations. Otherwise he would be considered just another also-ran..........which he is.

Awwww, diddums.

 

[jlo33692]

Well even in victory the old saying still lights like a beacon.

WHINGING POMS i think is what the saying is,but its normaly in defeat,Life habits i suppose are hard to break.

:

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Awwww, diddums.

 

[Dasa]

Fair play with most of them. The one that I think he over-emhpasised was Gilchrist's "We're due a bad decision here soon, boys" comment. That's week-in, week-out sort of thing.

Yeah, agree with that. That sort of comment (even if I personally find it distasteful) goes on everywhere. The other things Fletcher said were certainly fair enough though.

 

[social]

Why does anyone care what Duncan Fletcher (or any other cricket coach for that matter) has to say?

As Ian Chappell says, "a cricket coach's job is to pick up the balls at the end of practice and make sure that the team bus arrives on time."

 

[Linda]

Why does anyone care what Duncan Fletcher (or any other cricket coach for that matter) has to say?

As Ian Chappell says, "a cricket coach's job is to pick up the balls at the end of practice and make sure that the team bus arrives on time."

Its a shame John Buchanan didnt do a better job of picking up balls in Birmingham....

As for Duncan Fletcher, I dont have time for a man who has less facial expressions than a starfish.

 

[greg]

Why does anyone care what Duncan Fletcher (or any other cricket coach for that matter) has to say?

As Ian Chappell says, "a cricket coach's job is to pick up the balls at the end of practice and make sure that the team bus arrives on time."

As anyone else says, "just because Ian Chappell says it doesn't make it true".

 

[social]

As anyone else says, "just because Ian Chappell says it doesn't make it true".

So just how many wickets did he take for England during the Ashes, or runs did he score, or catches did he take?

Must be the world's shortest book.

I was an ordinary cricketer.

Not qualified for anything else so I became a coach.

Lucky enough to be given the England job at a time when they had their best group of cricketers for many years despite having bugger-all qualifications.

Team won the Ashes.

I ate lunch.

The end.

 

[greg]

So just how many wickets did he take for England during the Ashes, or runs did he score, or catches did he take?

Must be the world's shortest book.

I was an ordinary cricketer.

Not qualified for anything else so I became a coach.

Lucky enough to be given the England job at a time when they had their best group of cricketers for many years despite having bugger-all qualifications.

Team won the Ashes.

I ate lunch.

The end.

Well if that is an attitude held throughout Australia then one begins to understand why they reappointed John Buchanan...