The England management responded yesterday to the team's ignominious exit from the World Cup, on the back of arguably the most humiliating arse-kicking they have received in a one-day international, by disappearing to the golf course without a word of explanation of what went wrong or a note of contrition.

Instead, David Morgan, the chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, will offer a media conference this morning. Given it was he who recently announced his unequivocal support for the continuation of Duncan Fletcher's tenure, it would be short odds that the coach has been fired or - more likely - encouraged to resign.

Had the team performed above itself and somehow overcome South Africa and West Indies, and forced a place in the semi-finals, it might have bought Fletcher some breathing space.

Instead, to the accompaniment of boos and chants of "we're so shit it's unbelievable", it all came home to roost - full circle as well, for it was seven years ago that Nasser Hussain stood on the balcony at The Oval and was forced to endure the whistles and cat calls of a crowd that had just seen a series lost against New Zealand which brought them the label of world's worst side.

Fletcher, the old curmudgeon that he appears to be for public consumption (it is the jowls, he insists), has been and remains one of the outstanding coaches the game has seen. England cricket, in the gutter when he arrived, has much for which to be grateful, his planning of the 2005 Ashes campaign a masterpiece.

But England have dwelt for too long on top of the bus to Trafalgar Square.

For some months now there have been calls for Fletcher to be replaced after this tournament. This was based not just on a journalist's knee-jerk search for a good line but on the observation, both from the periphery and within the team, that his time was up.

Fletcher has not overnight become a bad coach but the relationship between him and the players has become stale, like a marriage that needs spicing up. This is the seven-year itch.

Fletcher's methods are no longer challenging, the familiarity of it all takes the edge from what ought to be a marvellous learning experience for young players.

Whoever replaces Fletcher ultimately will be conscious of the need to be more proactive towards the development of one-day cricket.

The world laughs at England.

Guardian Service