WITH every respect to Geoffrey Boycott’s profound knowledge of, and deep passion for, cricket, his opinion that Duncan Fletcher should be instantly dismissed from his post as England coach is patent rubbish.

Leaving aside the fact that our Geoffrey — whose 48,000 first-class runs at an average of 56 entitle him to an opinion on the art of batting and anything else in the cricketing realm — always thinks that he would be a better coach than the incumbent on the completely erroneous premise that he was invariably a better player than they were, 30 days before England begin their defence of the Ashes is no time to change the coach.

If England are successful in Australia, indeed, which they will be if Andrew Flintoff bowls as he did last year and Stephen Harmison and Kevin Pietersen buckle down after being given a little too much leeway by their coach, Fletcher is more likely to be knighted than to be sacked. That is certainly so if, should one success miraculously breed another, they confound all expectations by winning the World Cup.

If that is to happen, what is needed is not a change of coach but a change in the coach’s thinking, not something that comes easily to a man who often makes mules look like paragons of open-minded reasonableness. Fletcher is at once a superb man-manager and as flexible as an iron rod.

There are aspects of England’s recent efforts in one-day cricket that seem to be blindingly obvious to everyone except the man in the middle of the dressing-room.

It is truly odd that Fletcher, who first made his international name by captaining Zimbabwe to victory against Australia in their first World Cup match, adding figures of four for 42 to an innings of 69 not out — a performance that, added to his tactical appreciation on the day, was as inspired and heroic as limited-over international cricket has ever produced — does not seem now to appreciate the essential differences between Test and one-day cricket.

Like it or not, one of the essential arts in the game’s instant version is keeping the runs to a minimum in the field. It makes no difference what the class of the opponents may be, accurate bowlers are essential. Jon Lewis is that. It was foolish of Fletcher and the other selectors to leave him out of the one-day team against Sri Lanka last season and nothing less than a scandal that he was not an automatic selection in India from the start of the ICC Champions Trophy.

One could name a few more reliable, tall, available fast bowlers who would swing the white ball, get it to bounce variably on the sort of sticky pitches we have seen (surprise, surprise) in India and bowl it more consistently where they wanted to than Harmison, who has simply had too little bowling since succumbing to an injury that was never precisely specified after playing in only the last four of England’s seven Tests last season.

If Harmison should take 30 wickets in the five Tests in Australia, it is still doubtful whether he would be a sensible selection for the World Cup. He is not, consistently, an accurate bowler. He never was in his youth, certainly is not at the moment and never quite was even when everything from his brain, his mood and his high right arm were in sweet synchronisation in the 18 months of glory under Michael Vaughan. More than most, he has missed the amiable guidance of Troy Cooley, the former England bowling coach whom, as Fletcher well knows, they really are missing.

Nothing will change in this respect in the Caribbean next March and April. Many of the pitches on which the World Cup will be played will, because the game’s administrators will always put commerce before cricket if there is a choice, be almost brand new. They will inevitably be slow and liable to uneven bounce. Raw pace, changes of pace, quick thinking, “bottle”, experience, will all come to a bowler’s rescue, but only if they are grafted on to a reliable, repeating action.

For that reason, not only would Harmison be a questionable selection, but Liam Plunkett, his Durham colleague (seven runs an over against the merciless Sri Lankans in his five games last season), too. Harmison, meanwhile, needs as much bowling as possible, one reason why, paradoxically, he should probably play in what will almost certainly be England’s last game in the Champions Trophy, against West Indies on Saturday.

England’s batting in India has been as much to blame for defeats by India and Australia. Again it has been a case of not cutting the coat according to the cloth. On pitches different from those on which India’s batsmen dominated earlier this year, the need has been for steadiness more than for spectacular strokeplay. In similar conditions for the World Cup, a batting order of Strauss, Trescothick, Vaughan or Bell, Pietersen, Collingwood, Flintoff, Yardy, Dalrymple, Read, Lewis and Anderson (with Giles, Prior and Mahmood in reserve) would, even now, take some beating.

COACH SEARCH - THE SHORTLIST

Bob Woolmer: Was a strong candidate to take over in 1999 when Fletcher was appointed. His position then as South Africa coach interfered with the interview process. Present contract with Pakistan expires after the World Cup, leaving him a free agent, but Fletcher has no plans to retire. By the time he does go, Woolmer, 58 at present, may be considered too old.

Tom Moody: The 43-year-old Australian served a useful apprenticeship with Worcestershire before being headhunted by Sri Lanka, his present employers. A former World Cup winner at Lord’s in 1999, he is highly adept as a one-day coach. Has the advantage of knowing the English game inside out and could be ready for a move when Fletcher eventually bows out.

Tim Boon: Impressed as England Under-19 coach and then as video analyst for the senior team under Fletcher. A deep thinker on the game but just completed his first season as Leicestershire coach, which leaves him short on experience.

Martyn Moxon: Former England opener with extensive coaching experience at Yorkshire and, now, Durham. Also coached England A in Bangladesh and New Zealand in 1999. Painstaking with attention to detail.