Keith Fletcher
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Full name | Keith William Robert Fletcher | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Worcester, Worcestershire, England | 20 May 1944|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bowling | Leg break | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricInfo, 13 April 2022 |
Keith William Robert Fletcher
Cricket writer Colin Bateman noted that "Fletcher was a tough cookie, a shrewd man who could bluff opponents like the most disarming of poker players. He evoked loyalty in his teammates and admiration from his opponents, even when they were beaten by the sucker punch". Bateman added "the sacking of Fletcher as England captain remains one of English cricket's shabbiest sagas".[1]
Fletcher played 59 Test matches and 24 One Day Internationals. His Test tally of 3,272 runs came at an average of 39.90.[1]
Life and career
Keith started playing for his village side while living with his parents in Caldecote, Cambridgeshire, before moving to Royston, Hertfordshire to play for the local cricket club's second team at the age of 13. It was not long before he moved up to play for the first team.
It was while playing for Royston that Fletcher hit his first-ever century, and he produced his finest bowling figures, taking 9–20 on his first-team debut.
His county cricket career at Essex began at the age of 17.[1] He toured Pakistan with the MCC Under-25 side in 1966–67, and made his England Test debut in 1968 at Headingley against Australia. A baptism of fire, he found hostility from the Yorkshire crowd who felt that Phil Sharpe should have been preferred, and Fletcher's experience was not helped by dropping regulation catches at slip. A first innings duck seemed to be the portent of his early introverted batting stints in the national team.[1]
However, Fletcher was a
His debut century for England did not occur until Fletcher's 20th Test appearance. He went on to score six more centuries, at a rate of one every eight Tests, his highest Test score of 216 coming against
Fletcher also captained Essex successfully in two spells (1974–1985 and 1988). As Bateman noted, Fletcher "turned a county of cheerful losers into an even happier bunch as the most successful side in the country through the 1980s".[1] He captained Essex to three County Championships, in 1979, 1983 and 1984. He was appointed an OBE in the 1985 New Year Honours.
From 1993 to 1995, Fletcher served as England team coach. During this period, the side played 26 Test matches, of which they lost 15 and won only five.
Later, Fletcher returned to Essex as first-team coach, stepping down in 2001, to be replaced by his former teammate Graham Gooch. He is currently the manager of the Essex U15s team.
References
- ^ ISBN 1-869833-21-X.
- ^ Keith Fletcher. Cricinfo.com