Bell tolls for Fletcher as the wheels fall off

Simon Barnes identifies a familiar pattern as the pressure mounts on Duncan Fletcher. Writing in The Times, Barnes notes how, as in politics, even the most successful coaches are doomed to ultimate failure.

Less than 18 months ago, Fletcher could do no wrong. He was a national hero, the man who masterminded England’s Ashes-winning summer against Australia. Perhaps he should have gone then — stepped off the open-top bus and handed in the dinner-pail. But a coach almost never goes at the right time