England cricket coach Duncan Fletcher should be sacked after England were dominated by South Africa in Bridgetown, Barbados, ending their hopes of making it to the World Cup semifinals, much of the British press said on Wednesday.
South Africa dismissed England for a paltry 154 before racing to the target with more than 30 overs to spare in what was a must-win Super Eights match for both teams.
The Sun tabloid, Britain’s best-read daily, headlined its back page story on the defeat ”Worst Indies” and said ”Sunken Duncan” Fletcher’s ”bubble was puncturing and shredding all around him yesterday [Tuesday] as England suffered World Cup oblivion”.
”It was another pathetic batting performance by an England team who have been far and away the most anaemic of the tournament.”
According to the Times, the ”precise figures have changed from match to match, but the theme of capitulation has remained all too constant”.
England’s ”batsmen never tried to impose themselves on an attack maintaining stereotypical discipline”, the paper said.
For the Daily Mirror, meanwhile, England were the ”Prats of the Caribbean,” a reference to the blockbuster film, and the country’s ”cricketers will return in shame at the weekend after their pitifully meek World Cup exit yesterday”.
”The nine-wicket defeat … was the end of the road for their toothless campaign and should also signal the end of the road for Duncan Fletcher as coach,” the paper’s match report read.
”At no stage during six weeks in the Caribbean have England looked even remotely threatening.”
Several other papers also anticipated a resignation, or sacking, for Fletcher, with the Guardian saying that the coach, ”sphinxlike as ever behind his shades, may well have been mulling over the thought that Saturday’s dead rubber against West Indies will be his last game as their coach”.
”It is possible Fletcher had already made his mind up to step down, but the humiliating nature of England’s nine-wicket defeat to South Africa has surely removed any doubt.”
The Daily Telegraph chimed in, as well, saying that ”the recriminations for England should be swift”.
”The coach … must be replaced as quickly as is feasible to interview his potential replacements, while [captain] Michael Vaughan should concentrate on Test cricket.
”As it has been all tournament, the overriding problem was England’s tame batting.”
South Africa made a mockery of the England total, with skipper Graeme Smith (89 not out) and AB de Villiers (42) putting on 85 for the opening wicket off just 59 balls in a one-sided contest.
England, who have beaten only debutants Ireland and Bangladesh in the second round, remained on four points with just one game to go against the hosts, who have two points from five matches.
The general theme of the British press was summed up by the Daily Mail, which said in its match report that when ”the end of England’s World Cup campaign finally came last night, it was not so much an elimination as a mercy killing”.
”Such a performance surely leaves coach Duncan Fletcher to walk the plank in the time-honoured fashion associated with pirates of these parts.” – Sapa-AFP