Fletcher wanted to quit England selection panel before Ashes

London, Dec 18 (UNI) For all the flak that he is facing for selection goof-ups in the Ashes, England coach Duncan Fletcher never wanted to be a part of the process and offered to resign from the post before the team for the now lost series was finalised.

According to a report in 'The Times', Fletcher had told the cricket committee of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) that he wanted to quit the selection panel as he wanted to stay away from the captaincy debate that raged in England after Michael Vaughan's injury.

However, the under-fire coach was persuaded to stay on in the panel by the senior members and share responsibility for picking Marcus Trescothick, who later left the tour due to some stress-related illness, and Ashley Giles, who had not played in any significant series before the Ashes.

As it turned out, Giles proved to be ineffective and managed just three wickets in the first two Tests at Brisbane and Adelaide.

Fletcher was criticised for leaving out a more attacking Monty Panesar but the coach hinted that he wanted the 24-year-old left-armer in the team and was over-ruled by the other on-tour selectors.

Monty's impressive debut worsened the situation for Fletcher who is now being seen as the primary reason behind England's flop show against the Aussies.

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