ECB 'unreasonable'

Bob Woolmer has accused the England and Wales Cricket Board of being "unreasonable" during last summer's negotiations to find a successor to David Lloyd as the new national coach.

Woolmer, who had enjoyed a successful five years as South Africa's coach, was at the top of the ECB's wanted list after Lloyd announced he would be stepping down at the end of the World Cup. But he was eventually ruled out because he did not want to travel to London for an interview just before the World Cup semi-final at Edgbaston, and England instead chose Duncan Fletcher for the job.

"I was asked to attend a meeting in London in the same week as South Africa's World Cup semi-final with Australia, which put me in an impossible position," Woolmer said. "Eventually the ECB said they were prepared to wait until after the final, but by then it was too late for me."