Test centuries in that Ashes series, in the final test when Thomson and Lillee were incapacitated by injury. He was dropped by England after the Centenary Test of 1977, and not recalled for over four years. Following Mike Brearley's retirement as England captain and Ian Botham's short tenure, Fletcher re-appeared to captain the side to India in 1981–82. The series did not go well, with negative tactics from both teams, and poor umpiring decisions, which saw Fletcher flick off the bails with his bat after being given out in the Second Test. Worse was to follow for Fletcher when Geoffrey Boycott was sent home, and Fletcher's belated awareness that half of his touring party, led by his county teammate Graham Gooch, were preparing for a rebel tour to South Africa. Fletcher captaincy of England oversaw a 1–0 series defeat over six Tests against India, before Fletcher's only victory in a Test match as captain, in a one-off Test against Sri Lanka. Fletcher took all the blame, despite turning down the chance to join the rebels himself because of his loyalty to the England cause. His was then ignominiously sacked by the chairman of selectors, Peter May. Fletcher also captained Essex successfully in two spells (1974–1985 and 1988). As Bateman noted, Fletcher "turned a county of cheerful losers into an even happier bunch as the most successful side in the country through the 1980s". He captained Essex to three County Championships, in 1979, 1983 and 1984. He was appointed an OBE in the 1985 New Year Honours. From 1993 to 1995, Fletcher served as England team coach. During this period, the side played 26 Test matches, of which they lost 15 and won only five. Later, Fletcher returned to Essex as first-team coach, stepping down in 2001, to be replaced by his former teammate Graham Gooch. He is currently the manager of the Essex U15s team. References External links 1944 births Living people England One Day International cricketers England Test cricketers English cricketers of 1969 to 2000 England Test cricket captains Essex cricket captains International Cavaliers cricketers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Wisden Cricketers of the Year Cricketers at the 1975 Cricket World Cup Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers English cricketers T. N. Pearce's XI cricketers Young England cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club Under-25s cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club President's XI cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club Touring Team cricketers