World Cup Greatest Moments: Duncan Fletcher single-handedly beats the Aussies

Duncan Fletcher was not always the England coach of moribund countenance that we know today, he was once the Zimbabwe captain and chief all-rounder of moribund countenance.  In 1983 Zimbabwe played their first ever international fixture against Australia in the World Cup, and one imagines they were hoping for a more auspicious start to international cricket than being 94-5 in their innings.  Then came Fletcher who hit an unbeaten 69 to set the Aussies the tricky target of 239 to chase.  But he was not finished there,  jowly Duncan then decided to open the bowling and proceeded to knock down all four of the opening batsmen in a mesmerising 11 over spell.  Australia rallied but ultimately fell 13 runs short and Fletcher was seen to do a sort of a smile. A bit.

They say history informs the future, and this snippet of Duncan the player helps us understand why Fletcher the coach loves mediocre allrounders of the likes of Porky Dalrymple so much.  [lee calvert]