THE GOOGLY: ANTONIO CONTE'S PR PINTER TO DUNCAN FLETCHER

FOLLOW HUW @HUWZAT

Jokes about ‘thirsty’ sport journalists are numerous, but Antonio Conte pulled off a masterstroke when he got his round in after Christmas.

The Chelsea manager took a group of football reporters to a pub near Stamford Bridge to buy them all a beer.

He is obviously enjoying life in England, with his side sailing clear at the top of the Premier League. It was fantastic PR, though.

What does that have to do with cricket?

Well, rightly or wrongly, it does pay to stay on the right side of the media.

I cite two examples.

One was Duncan Fletcher.

He was an excellent England coach.

After a shaky first winter in South Africa, he forged a fine alliance with captain Nasser Hussain. They beat West Indies in a Test series for the first time in 31 years. They then enjoyed a magnificent winter in 2000/01, triumphing in Test rubbers in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, fiendishly difficult places to win.

Fletcher then teamed up with a new skipper, Michael Vaughan. England won all seven Tests in the summer of 2004; triumphed in South Africa in 2004/05, and then the pièce de résistance – the Ashes in 2005, against one of the greatest Australian sides, in fact one of the greatest sides of all, after a interminable, humiliating 18-year wait.

Fletcher has a strong claim to be England’s best coach so far (albeit he benefitted greatly from the introduction of central contracts). He was especially good with the batsmen - many found his forward press a handy technique against great spinners like Muttiah Muralitharan.

Micky Stewart will always have the 1986/87 Ashes on his CV, of course, plus two 50-over World Cup finals. But Keith Fletcher, such a force in county cricket as coach, struggled in the international game, and the job came too late for Ray Illingworth (after he had been a great captain).

The passionate David Lloyd had highs and lows, intermingled with a couple of controversies. Peter Moores, like Keith Fletcher, struggled to translate his county blueprint on to the England scene. 

Andy Flower rivals Duncan Fletcher’s claim to be top dog, overseeing Ashes wins in 2009, 2010/11 and 2013, and leading England to No.1 in the Test rankings.

Trevor Bayliss started well – 2015 Ashes, the series win in South Africa that winter, and he can join the elite by winning this winter in his homeland.

Does Fletcher get the credit he deserves? Not always. One possible reason was that he was wary of the press. He did not cultivate cordial relations with them. He did not have a drink with them in the bar at night (from what I saw on my handful of tours, anyhow). Is that important? Should it be important? I genuinely believe it helps. I spoke to cricket correspondents who found it painful to acknowledge his achievements because he was cautious and not especially friendly with them. His autobiography described many spats with journalists, putting his side of the story. “Needless to say I had the last laugh,” as Alan Partridge often said.

The second example is Jon Lewis. The Gloucestershire seamer was a brilliant county performer, who took stacks of wicket. The perception was that he was not quick enough, though, and that he would only flourish in English conditions. He had seemingly read this, and did not look comfortable when he faced the media.

I saw him a couple for times in press conferences and he did not say a great deal. I believe that would have done nothing to discourage journalists from holding those views. Better to smile and give them a story. Give them something positive to write about. How you look after sick animals at weekends, and so on.

Print journalists have less power than they used to, thanks to websites, blogs and social media. There are infinitely more voices out there. There will be loads of people who will say Fletcher was England’s best coach, or Lewis had the skills to challenge international batsmen on flat decks, and should have been given more chance to show that.

Fletcher and Lewis could have made life easier for themselves, however… even if it did not mean taking everyone to the local and getting the beers in.