Duncan Fletcher tendered his resignation as England coach following their disappointing World Cup campaign on this day 15 years ago.
England were knocked out of the tournament in the Caribbean at the Super Eight stage and the England and Wales Cricket Board officially announced Fletcher’s departure at a press conference at their Barbados Hotel.
The decision came just months after an Ashes whitewash defeat in Australia and brought an end to an eight-year spell in charge for the 58-year-old Zimbabwean.
Fletcher replaced David Lloyd in 1999 and oversaw an overhaul of the English game, including being a key figure in the introduction of central contracts and taking the Test team from bottom of the world rankings to regaining the Ashes in 2005 after an 18-year gap.
ECB chief executive David Collier said at the time of Fletcher’s resignation: “The ECB would like to formally put on record our grateful thanks to Duncan Fletcher for his outstanding service to cricket throughout England and Wales.
“He can be justifiably proud of a record which includes an Ashes series victory over Australia, a record eight successive Test wins and Test series wins abroad in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies and South Africa as well as the Commonwealth Bank series success in Australia.
“England’s rise to number two in the LG ICC Test Championship is in no small measure due to his rigorous planning and excellent coaching skills.”
Fletcher, who went on to coach India for four years between 2011 and 2015, was replaced by Peter Moores.
