'Eng being 2-0 down isn't about which spinner plays : chief selector

London, Dec 11 (UNI) England losing the first two Ashes Tests has got nothing to do with Monty Panesar not being in the side, feels ECB Chairman of Selectors David Graveney, who has also ruled out the possibility of skipper Andrew Flintoff 'over-ruling' coach Duncan Fletcher on selection matters.

''Us being 2-0 down isn't about which spinner plays or both playing,'' Mr Graveney told BBC Five Live's Sportsweek.

''I'm not going to speculate on Freddie over-ruling Duncan. They would have reached this decision together,'' he added, while responding to a query on the rumoured clash between the skipper and the coach before the Adelaide Test.

The chief selector urged the critics not to single out Fletcher for the less-than-impressive performance of the team Down Under.

''I'm disappointed with the amount of criticism that's been aimed at Duncan solely. The way that we've organised English cricket is around collective responsibility -- when things go badly, that's a collective responsibility,'' he said.

''The selectors -- Duncan, me and Geoff Miller -- deliver a squad to the coach Duncan and captain Andrew Flintoff. No-one makes a decision on their own. The process has been in place on many tours before, on which we've had a lot of success,'' he added as he tried to play down the recent reports of differences between the captain and the coach.

Mr Graveney said the shocking loss at the Adelaide was not a result of bad selection but bad cricket by England on the last day of the match. The chief selector said he was confident of an England comeback in the remainder of the series.

''In the first Test, regrettably our seam bowling was not on the money at all, and in the second one we had a mad hour with the bat.

We've got great resolve in this team - we've had some success, but we know everyone has to pull together,'' he said.

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