Fletcher's torment over the England captaincy

14 April 2012

Duncan Fletcher has admitted that the contest to captain England in Australia this winter could not be closer.

The England coach indicated that he and his fellow selectors have finally made up their minds over whether Andrew Flintoff or Andrew Strauss should take charge of the Ashes defence in November after first leading the Champions Trophy squad to India next month.

However, to underline how much thought he, David Graveney and Geoff Miller are giving the matter before announcing their chosen man at The Oval tomorrow, the man who plotted that spectacular defeat of Australia a year ago suggested they wanted to run through the pros and cons one more time.

"We just want to finalise it, go away and make sure we haven't left something out of the pot," Fletcher said.

Strauss's late surge from outsider to favourite with at least some bookmakers continued right up to the final winning post of another gruelling summer.

Having captained England, without the all-round contributions of Flintoff, to a fine Test series victory over Pakistan, the Middlesex man led his injuryravaged side to a three-wicket win against the same opposition at Edgbaston to tie the NatWest Series 2-2.

"It's a very close call. They've both done very well," Fletcher said. "If circumstances had been different we would probably have a captain announced by now. But it's been very difficult. You don't want to rush into things and then regret a decision you've made which could have been left as late as possible.

"Andrew Flintoff did very well earlier this year in India, which is not an easy place to captain a side. Then he did well in the first part of the summer against Sri Lanka.

"But, at the end of the day, Andrew Strauss has put his hand up under trying, if not more trying, circumstances with a side that hasn't included Freddie, who is a huge bonus to any team.

"It's a great positive from our point of view because when Michael Vaughan took over you wondered where the next captain was coming from. But everything sorts itself out and now there are two candidates."

Sorting out, though, whether Flintoff's openly inspirational style of captaincy or Strauss's quieter, more understated method of leadership would be better suited to taking on Australia has clearly given Fletcher and Co a few headaches.

"I wish there was only one [candidate] and we wouldn't have had this difficult decision," said the coach, a touch ruefully.

Whichever way the verdict goes, it will be vital for England that the captain and his deputy form a strong leadership unit.

"You want to play for your country and you want your team to win, so you do everything you can to make sure that happens," said Fletcher. "Knowing the characters I'm sure they will work together."

On 12 September last year, England regained the Ashes after being without them since 1989.

Exactly 12 months later, on the ground where the triumph was sealed, the selectors will name two touring parties designed with the intention of covering every eventuality.

There will be 14 players going to the Champions Trophy with two more, probably Ashley Giles and Jimmy Anderson, accompanying the squad to India in the hope of completing their recovery from hip and back injuries respectively.

The Ashes party will be 16-strong. But up to five more players will be picked to travel to Perth, where they will remain on standby, training and possibly getting in some club cricket, in case reinforcements are needed.

"The two squads are going to be pretty difficult to pick but, because of the injuries, the Champions Trophy is perhaps a bit harder," Fletcher said.

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