Fletcher fears England burnout

England coach Duncan Fletcher has today expressed fears over the long-term fitness of England’s key players, ahead of their crucial Ashes tour this winter. He claims that “We set out to beat Australia in a series at home in 2005. For this England side, the only better achievement than that is beating them away.” But with three Test series and a Champions Trophy to come before then, with the 2007 World Cup shortly afterwards, Fletcher claims his players may end up being over-worked.

“Burnout doesn’t happen overnight, but once it’s happened it’s too late”, said Fletcher, speaking to the News of the World newspaper. “The 2007 World Cup is going to leave us with some very tired players – then we have two home series against the West Indies and India.” England begin their tour to India this month, then face home series against a rejuventated Pakistani side and Sri Lanka – before jetting back to India for the Champions Trophy in October.

Fletcher’s main concern appears to be all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, who returned home from Pakistan in December nursing a slight aggravation of the ankle trouble that resulted in an operation last year. There is a suggestion that “Freddie” may be rested from certain series this year, to preserve his fitness for the winter’s games. The England coach added, “Michael Vaughan’s job is to win games, and I can’t just tell him to only use Flintoff for 12 overs a day – but when we need a wicket, who else is he going to throw the ball to?”