England’s tour of Australia ended in surreal fashion, with a browbeaten side recovering their vigour to win the Commonwealth Bank one-day series and Duncan Fletcher extolling the words of Mother Teresa as his inspiration during the bleakest period of the Ashes winter.
”Mother Teresa said that when you are successful you win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies,” he said. ”I am quite philosophical about it. I will leave it at that.”
The Catholic Church has already begun the process of beatification for Mother Teresa, who worked among the poor of Kolkata until her death 10 years ago, but she remains one miracle short of official sainthood. Inspiring England to four successive wins, three against Australia, might just do the trick.
Fletcher has taken quite a battering since England’s 5-0 Ashes whitewash. The implication that his critics have been driven by envy after his success in winning the Ashes in 2005 is, at best, contentious. But this unshakeable faith in his methods and beliefs continues to bolster him and, given a reasonable World Cup, will now ensure his survival.
Mother Teresa’s comment was given to Fletcher by Alan Chambers, a motivational speaker and polar adventurer, who first spoke to England before their successful Ashes campaign in 2005.
”We call Alan Chambers the Ice Man,” said Fletcher. ”We use him to psychologically boost the side. He has kept in touch with me. It was all about an endurance test. He has been the most positive individual who has spoken to me on the tour. I just like positive people. Simple as that.”
There were no radical shifts in England’s one-day approach. Michael Vaughan’s return as captain, although disrupted by injury, instilled new determination. Young players, such as Ed Joyce and Liam Plunkett, grasped their opportunities, encouraging the more experienced — Paul Collingwood and Andrew Flintoff — to follow suit.
Durham can be proud of the character shown by Collingwood and Plunkett; what thoughts are passing through the head of their county colleague, Steve Harmison, as he opts instead for premature one-day retirement on the Northumberland coast?
Fletcher’s insistence on loyalty, when Vaughan injured a hamstring in Hobart and faith was maintained in stand-in captain Andrew Flintoff, also communicated something valuable. The show of trust — an assertion of basic, decent principles of behaviour in defiance of the evidence of a 5-0 Test whitewash — was appreciated by Flintoff, and his relationship with the coach deepened as a result.
Three weeks ago, England’s World Cup smacked of potential disaster, now their odds have been trimmed to as low as 13-2. With no team at their peak, England will imagine that anything is possible.
Fletcher said: ”You can’t deny that four wins in a row, three against Australia, have lifted the side. They were solid performances. Hopefully they can produce that at the World Cup. If you’re a positive coach and you believe in your players, you believe you can do anything.
”With young players you don’t know what the limit is. When you see the mistakes they are still making, basic mistakes, then you realise what potential is there. Even when we were doing badly I always felt that we should give these guys a chance.
”I thought we were a year too early for the World Cup. Now I don’t know where we are. Maybe we’re six months too early. We might get to the World Cup and realise we are bang on target.”
Fletcher will decide his future after the World Cup and the choice again seems to be in his hands.
There are no signs that he has had his fill, although a World Cup of extremes — either embarrassing failure or the unexpected sight of England lifting the trophy — might change his mind. ”I reflect after every tour and I will do that after the World Cup. I have always felt that I have the support of the players. I still believe in my ability.” — Â