More than three years ago, after the 2003 tournament in South Africa, David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, said that every member of every team thereon would be chosen with 2007 in mind. Darren Gough was the exception, picked to act as a sounding board for emerging bowlers.

The result of this long-term planning can now be seen. With a maximum 12 games before they face New Zealand in St Lucia in March, England stand eighth in the official one-day ratings and performances in the ICC Champions Trophy suggest that a position above only Bangladesh and Zimbabwe is about right.

Fletcher should be praised for his honesty. But his explanation that poor results are caused by injuries is wearing thin, not least after Andrew Flintoff, the captain, said on Saturday: “I am happy with the team here, with the talent and determination in the dressing-room. We can’t worry about players who are unavailable.”

The side that lost to Australia was missing 1½ players who would walk back in: Marcus Trescothick and Flintoff the bowler. But of the others, Michael Vaughan would face competition from Ian Bell, and Ashley Giles from Jamie Dalrymple. Simon Jones is unproven as an international one-day bowler. Only Michael Yardy would expect to lose his place, and he is an example of the confusion. In three innings he has had to bat in three different positions. The step up in class is hard enough without such uncertainty.

Australia showed the value of a flexible batting order when Michael Hussey stepped up from No 7 to No 5 to plug the loss of wickets in Jaipur. But England overcomplicated matters, switching Kevin Pietersen and Flintoff, whose run at No 3 lasted a single game. Stability is required because consistent selection, a feature of the Test set-up, has been missing in the shorter format. Jon Lewis, England’s best bowler against Pakistan last month, has lost his place. Of eight players given debuts this year only two — Yardy and Dalrymple — featured at the weekend.

Fletcher is right that the speed of one-day cricket gives newcomers less time to adjust than the Test game. This is why a level-headed player such as Alastair Cook, an immediate success over five days, is not ready to play 50 overs. The formats share some, but not all, skills.

Young players can suddenly click together, as Fletcher believes happened in 2004 when they beat India 2-1 and then reached the final of the Champions Trophy. So asked, with that in mind, whether he was living in hope now, Fletcher replied: “Yes, it can click.” And, for the record, his comment on the World Cup: “If you look at the big picture you could say it is coming too soon.” Rotten of the ICC to stage events at such short notice.