Either it was enough that she had completed pretty much without error a prodigiously difficult manoeuvre or it betrayed a

Either it was enough that she had completed, pretty much without error, a prodigiously difficult manoeuvre, or it betrayed a fundamental flaw. There were two ways of interpreting the wobble that accompanied her opening triple lutz/triple toe-loop combination which took her so close to the edge of the rink she had the television cameramen flinching. As soon as she put both hands on the ice to steady herself after her first jump, a triple lutz, it was clear the glory lay elsewhere.Next up was Bobek, already displaying the poise of a champion. But her long programme is her weakest element, and her prospects were not helped when out of the final group which comprised the six best-placed skaters, she was drawn to take the rink first. She exceeded all expectations by leading going into the free programme to give herself a wonderful chance of the title at her first attempt. Perhaps not surprisingly, her nerve failed her, and two falls saw her slip back to third.

A medal of any kind was still a remarkable achievement.The only other skater with a realistic hope of victory was the Russian Olga Markova, second overnight. An enthralled audience at the National Exhibition Centre seemed to have a marginal preference for 18-year-old Chen, and in the end the judges came down on her side, making her the first Chinese woman to win the title. For Bonaly, aged 21, it meant silver for the second year running, and her third in all. But whereas last year her indignation at not winning gold led her to discard the lesser medal as soon as it was presented to her, here she showed grace in yielding to a fractionally superior opponent.

From lying fourth after the short programme, the title seemingly way beyond her reach, the Frenchwoman could only be admired for the sheer desire she showed in coming so close.
The woman with most to feel disappointed about was Nicole Bobek, the 17-year-old American who had arrived in Birmingham trailing clouds of controversy after a brush with the law back home. It will cost them £100,000 to pay off Fletcher’s contract, though that couldn’t happen to a nicer bloke. Right now, Fletcher will probably be sitting on his chalet loo in the Swiss Alps, thinking how different things might have been had England won the toss in Perth and levelled the series. But Fletcher has always treated both sides of the coin, triumph and disaster, as twin impostors He will not let this news spoil his skiing for long..

THE equivalent of the width of a blade was all that separated Lu Chen and Surya Bonaly yesterday in as tense and competitive a world figure skating championship as there has been. Patrick Whittingdale, the sponsor who has invested so much in England’s preparation over the past five years, is known to favour Gooch, though Phil Neale, who was appointed Warwickshire’s coach last Friday, has had two good tours as team manager of the England A side.Whatever happens, the TCCB will not be offering a five-year tenure. Although Atherton is likely to continue as captain, Illingworth’s increased power could lead to some trans-Pennine bickering should things begin to wrong against the West Indies.With players such as Gooch, John Emburey and Mike Gatting all expected to retire in the near future, speculation is rife as to who may ultimately get the manager’s job. With Illingworth effectively having two votes, the problem is multiplied, and the England dressing-room could be a haven for navel-gazers this summer. His job is to motivate and bring about a confident and spirited dressing-room.But, as any Australian player will tell you, when Bobby Simpson was both coach and selector, the dressing-room was full of tension, with players unwilling to discuss problems for fear of reprisals. Fletcher, with only five wins in 26 Tests, was light on both counts and last week the TCCB sacked him with two and a half years of his contract still to run.In the meantime, and for a 12-month trial period, the TCCB have appointed Ray Illingworth to assume Fletcher’s role, though he intends to ask coaches to run all the practices.

This was cruelly reversed when England played poorly and Fletcher had to justify his side’s lamentable performances.This was undoubtedly his biggest failing. Unless blessed with a silken tongue or an expert grounding in public relations, a coach has to stand or fall by the results of his team. Even a close friend such as Graham Gooch eventually looked elsewhere, hiring Alan Lilley to help him out with his batting after Fletcher’s throw-downs proved too erratic.His appointment as team manager to succeed Micky Stewart at the end of 1992, was roundly welcomed. But it did not take long for detractors to start voicing concern, and his first tour in charge to India and Sri Lanka was a disaster, despite the belief that he and Gooch would form a redoubtable partnership.After a poor home series against Australia and 3-1 loss to the West Indies in the Caribbean, Fletcher’s increasingly fragile position was thought to have became more eroded following Raymond Illingworth’s appointment as chairman of selectors a year ago.At first, these fears seemed unfounded, but even the diffident Fletcher cannot have failed to notice that every time England did well, Illingworth seemed to elbow his way into the limelight. It is sometimes difficult for a one-time dictator, as Fletcher was at Essex, to suddenly assume a diminished role and do it well.While always stressing the importance of practice, Fletcher was never a natural at taking it.