05-01-2007
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England to limit coach's powers
BBC SPORT | Cricket | England | England to limit coach's powers
The England coach's powers will be curtailed following the recommendations of the report into the disaster of last winter's Ashes tour to Australia.
Governing body, the ECB, will assume more control over the running of the team after publication of the Schofield report next month, the BBC has learnt.
The coach will not combine his role with that of chief selector on tour.
And, while former coach Duncan Fletcher also fulfilled the team management role on tour, these roles will now be split.
In the last instance, that could mean ECB operations manager Phil Neale - official team manager - re-assuming the tour management duties that Fletcher apparently eroded.
The Schofield report is being prepared by a seven-man panel reviewing England's performances over the last four years, including the recent Ashes whitewash.
It features ex-England captain Nasser Hussain, former England players Nick Knight, Angus Fraser, Hugh Morris, Mickey Stewart and Brian Rose and former European golf tour boss Ken Schofield.
 Fletcher intended to stay on for another 12 months, sources say
| It will be presented to the England and Wales Cricket Board in a month's time and will address the coach's role in the England set-up following criticism of Duncan Fletcher during the Ashes tour and World Cup.
Fletcher has since resigned and been replaced by former Academy coach Peter Moores, who offically starts his new job on Tuesday.
The report will look at how the selection committee works and how the coach reports to the ECB, effectively ending the sort of dictatorial position Fletcher held.
It had initially been thought that Moores would be a temporary replacement for Fletcher, but as he was a full-time ECB employee that was not possible.
But his job description is not permanent - and that will change after the Schofield report, taking power away from the coach.
The report will also look at the relationship between Team England and the counties, looking in particular at the amount of county cricket played by centrally-contracted England players.
 England's defeat by South Africa was the final straw for the ECB
| The BBC has also learnt Fletcher did not resign in the way that was presented.
Senior sources have told me he gave the ECB his notice - a period of 12 months - before the World Cup game against Bangladesh on 11 April, with the intention of serving out that period.
But things changed after England's dreadful performance against South Africa, when they were knocked out of the World Cup following a nine-wicket defeat.
An ECB board meeting was called at which it emerged that chairman David Morgan and other senior figures on the board were keen for Fletcher to stay on until after the West Indies Test series, which begins on 17 May at Lord's.
However, other senior board members, led by Keith Bradshaw, chief executive of the MCC, thought that it was impossible to have a lame duck coach going into the summer.
They were keen to see him replaced as soon as possible - it was this that led to the resignation annoucement which I broke on the BBC on 19 April.
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