Fletcher concerned at England's lack of experience

Duncan Fletcher says he is concerned at the lack of experience in the England squad after conducting the first full net practice of the visitors' Zimbabwean tour in Harare on Friday.

England will play five one day internationals against Zimbabwe on the tour, seen as the start of their preparations for the 2003 World Cup.

Six members of the 16 man squad are uncapped, while between them captain Nasser Hussain and batsmen Nick Knight and Graham Thorpe hold 178 of the 260 caps shared by the squad.

"We've picked these youngsters to prove to us that they're good enough to play in the World Cup, and they've been given great opportunities," England coach Fletcher told reporters.

"Obviously, we've left some very good players behind who will have to be considered. Once this tour's over we will have to say these are the individuals we want and make sure they get that experience I've been calling for.

"I don't think there are enough games between now and the World Cup, but we've got to make sure we use those games very effectively."

Fletcher said England were scheduled to play 21 one day internationals from now to the World Cup. South Africa would play 31 from now to April next year.

"We are the babies in international cricket by a long way," Fletcher said. "By February this year, before we played Sri Lanka, since the 1999 World Cup England had played 21 one day internationals.

International Babies
"The next side with the least number of games was Zimbabwe with 43. So everyone had twice as much experience as we had, and that's a huge problem.

"It's no use saying Alec Stewart's played 146 one day internationals - he's played that over 12 years. You've got young Pakistanis of 22 who've played that many in four years.

"Anyone will tell you you've got a lot more experience if you've played 146 games in four years than if you've played 146 over 12 years."

Fletcher said he was satisfied with the way the team was preparing for the series, which starts in Harare on Wednesday.

"It was a very good session this morning," Fletcher said. "In fact, I didn't want it that hard - it was meant to be quite a light session.

"Suddenly, they don't want the bus to go and they want extra nets. It's nice to see that sort of enthusiasm."

England will play a tour match against Zimbabwe A in Harare on Monday.

Mail Cricket Editor