Twenty20 World Cup 2014

No, keep it up, see if you can get more counter-accusations and weasel words out of him (or his work experience student).

Regarding BM's mail, unfortunately it probably got blocked by their incoming mail filter, even if the language it contained was fully justified!

Ashley Giles is a strong candidate to succeed Andy Flower as England's coach, the ECB chairman Giles Clarke said on Saturday. Flower stepped down on Friday following England's 5-0 Ashes whitewash. The managing director Paul Downton will now take charge of the process of appointing a successor, and Clarke was generous but non-committal in his praise for Giles.

"I think we would all agree he is a very strong candidate. Ashley is a very valued employee of the ECB and we all have the highest regard for him both as a man and a coach. He is a man of high integrity, he's played a lot of cricket for England and is respected in the game. Having said that, for all I know there may well be other candidates who emerge. That will be a matter for Paul and whoever he chooses to advise him on that."

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/feb/01/england-coach-ashley-giles-andy-flower

I have just collected some of his words from the papers and press agencies of 1 Feb anyway - might put them together with a covering note after dinner.

If I can overcome the extreme dread of getting sued for telling the truth by a notably (and quite understandably) litigious ECB chief, that is.


Edit:

Aye, taipan, that's part of what I've got.

He was at least prudent enough to realise how far he had gone out of his way with his backing, and tacked on the quick disclaimer at the end. But the papers and the press agencies got the main message, and several led with the clear implication of those statements.

Can you actually sue someone for a private communication? I know it's been "published" on here, but he's probably unlikely to find this. Unless Mrs Stokes is his private investigator perhaps...

Nice one Piet. Good effort that. My advice is to wreck him. I got stony silence, which I find quite weird. I am encouraged that he may have read my qunts.

Brass Monkey wrote:Nice one Piet. Good effort that. My advice is to wreck him. I got stony silence, which I find quite weird. I am encouraged that he may have read my qunts.

Don't know if you asterisked the swear words but a lot of corporate email systems will just block anything containing certain words...

That would be typical of the ECB, censor everything that their fragile minds can't cope with.

Well, guess a fair proportion of mails containing such words are spam.

Assuming they did receive it, they would actually go up in my estimation if they responded, but can't imagine it somehow. A banner at an international match this summer might be a better bet, but perhaps wait until after drinks in the final session if you want to make the most of the admission price...

beamer wrote:

Brass Monkey wrote:Nice one Piet. Good effort that. My advice is to wreck him. I got stony silence, which I find quite weird. I am encouraged that he may have read my qunts.

Don't know if you asterisked the swear words but a lot of corporate email systems will just block anything containing certain words...

Yep, standard procedure.

And standard procedure not to respond to personal abuse as well, justified as said abuse may be in this case!

Did our very own Monkey create this a few years back?

http://www.petitiononline.com/GILOSHIT/petition.html

Dear Mr Clarke,

Thank you very much for your email, and taking the time to reply to me personally.

I recognise the onerous responsibilities you bear as Chairman of the ECB. I would however ask you not to fall into the possible trap that looms when such tasks weigh heavily, of thinking you and the rest of the leadership of the ECB are the only ones in the country with the best interests of England cricket at heart.

I can assure you that precisely this concern is what motivated my email to Mr Downton, cc to yourself.

As to the substance of your reply, and your assertions, however, I must admit I find these a little surprising.

I would ask you to review these words, attributed to you in a variety of newspapers and press association reports of the weekend of February 1/2, at the time of Andy Flower's resignation.

Would you say that this text misrepresented your words?

"I think we would all agree [Ashley Giles] is a very strong candidate [for the post of Head Coach]. Ashley is a very valued employee of the ECB and we all have the highest regard for him both as a man and a coach. He is a man of high integrity. He's played a lot of cricket for England and is very respected in the game. Having said that, for all I know there may well be other candidates who emerge. That will be a matter for Paul and whoever he chooses to advise him on that."

Quoted from: http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/feb/01/andy-flower-resignation-ashes-giles

Despite a prudent step back at the end ("Having said that, ..."), I think any reasonable observer must read these words as a unusually enthusiastic and ringing endorsement of Ashley Giles for the post, a strong testimonial in favour of the character, track record and abilities of one individual above all others: in a way that I am sure most observers would further regard as prejudicial to the choice which (as you quite rightly say) should be Paul Downton's to make.

Indeed, this is exactly how prominent newspapers and international press agencies reporting your press conference tended to interpret the message.

To the extent that at least six of them - separately - started out their reports with precisely such an implication of your words.

I can quote you these six independently reporting sources - verbatim, with Web references - and ask you to consider whether, in the light first of your words (cited above), and second, the clear implications taken separately by a wide variety of listeners, you still feel that my previous points were entirely unfounded.

1
Giles Clarke insists Ashley Giles and Alastair Cook have his full support

Richard Hobson Deputy Cricket Correspondent
[The Times]  February 1 2014

Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, hinted last night that Ashley Giles will add the Test-match brief to his role as limited-overs coach in the shake-up of the England set-up. He also backed Alastair Cook to continue as captain.

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/cricket/article3992638.ece

2
Giles tipped to succeed Flower
Ashley Giles has been described as a "very strong candidate" to replace Andy Flower as England team director.

[Daily Express] February 1, 2014

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Giles Clarke has backed the credentials of Giles, who was ushered in as limited overs coach under Flower 14 months ago.

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/cricket/457386/Giles-tipped-to-succeed-Flower

3
Ashley Giles 'a very strong candidate' to succeed Andy Flower as England team director, says ECB chief

Andrew Tong, [The Independent], Sunday 02 February 2014

Ashley Giles is a "very strong candidate" to replace Andy Flower as England's team director, according to Giles Clarke, the chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Giles was appointed as England coach for one-day internationals and Twenty20 matches 14 months ago. That decision was taken to take some of the strain off Flower and allow him more time with his family.

"He's a very strong candidate," Clarke said yesterday. "Ashley is a very valued employee of the ECB. We all have the highest regard for him both as a man and as a coach.

"He is a man of great integrity and great capabilities. He played a lot of cricket for England and is very respected in the game."

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/cricket/ashley-giles-a-very-strong-candidate-to-succeed-andy-flower-as-england-team-director-says-ecb-chief-9101730.html

4
Giles favorite to replace Flower for England tests

Associated Press, February 1, 2014

(AP) -- England is set to return to having one coach in charge of the three international formats, making Ashley Giles the favorite to replace the departed Andy Flower at the head of the test team.

Giles has been coach of England's one-day and Twenty20 sides since December 2012, when Flower decided to focus solely on test duties.

Giles Clarke, chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, says "we've learned with the dividing roles and think it's better to bring them together . I think that's where we see it going."

Clarke says Giles is a "very strong candidate" to succeed Flower, adding that the ECB has "the highest regard for him both as a man and as a coach."

(Various outlets using AP, e.g. : )
http://nytimes.stats.com/cricket/story.asp?i=20140201081922188564408
http://news.yahoo.com/giles-favorite-replace-flower-england-tests-131949577.html

5
ECB chief hints Ashley Giles will succeed Andy Flower

ECB chairman Giles Clarke has suggested Ashley Giles could take over all three formats, without putting a timeframe on any appointment..

Agence France-Presse  |  Saturday, 01 February 2014

http://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/news/220306-ecb-chief-hints-ashley-giles-will-succeed-andy-flower

6
Cricket-Giles a strong candidate to replace Flower - England boss
Reuters, February 1, 2014 7:46 AM

LONDON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Limited-overs supremo Ashley Giles is a strong candidate to succeed Andy Flower as England's coach in all formats, cricket board chief Giles Clarke said on Saturday. (...)

"We would agree he is a strong candidate," Clarke told reporters. "He's a valued employee of the ECB, a man of great integrity and ability." (...)

ECB managing director Paul Downton will oversee the recruitment process, Clarke said. "We don't play any test cricket until June so we have quite a break during which time we are focusing on the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh (next month)," he added.

"Ashley is in charge of all that anyway, is in charge of the side in the West Indies and will take charge of the side continuously, so that process is pretty clear."

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/02/01/cricket-england-idUKL3N0L607S20140201


Yours sincerely,

PeterCS wrote:This is fairly interesting (in response to my email - see above):

Dear Mr ....

I have been copied on your letter.

You have made a series of statements claiming comments from my self,none of which have any basis in fact whatsoever.

Mr Downton is in charge of the Head Coach selection process. It is part of his responsibilities .

I myself have made no public or private statement whatsoever about my views on any candidate at all.

I would be grateful if you would therefore cease to make such unfounded allegations.

Yours
Giles Clarke

Which suggests:

(a) GC is at least feigning to distance himself from a shoulder-to-shoulder alignment with AG;
(b) he (or more likely, a minion) bothered to read part of the thing;
(c) either the speculative line to Paul Downton does work (and he forwarded the mail), or the CC I speculatively included to GC worked directly.

In the latter case, I wonder what his response to Monkehh's mail might have been?


I am unsure whether to reply to Giles, quoting where he did make such implications and explicit statements very clear. More wasted breath?

He is quite correct about one thing though - none of his comments (especially re: the Head Coach position) have any basis in fact whatsoever.

Well done for at least voting with your word processor.

good on you Pete...stick to your guns

> From: Paul Downton
> Date: 2 April 2014 10:27:07 BST
> Cc: Giles Clarke
> Subject: Re: From an extremely concerned England cricket fan
>
> Dear Mr
>
> Thank you for your email.
>
> I have just returned from Bangladesh where everybody concerned, players, coaches and management where extremely disappointed by the way we ended the tournament against the Netherlands. There are no excuses for such a performance as both Stuart and Ashley admitted in the post match press conference. It was a pity as England had competed well in the previous three matches but whatever positives had come out of those games were lost in the defeat by the Dutch.
>
> Moving forward there will be a different feel to the England team as we approach the home Test series against Sri Lanka and India. This will be the start of the re-building process after the Ashes tour. Consistent success may take some time but I am confident we will be moving in the right direction by then. I can assure you that no one is more passionate about English cricket than myself and those involved in the England camp.
>
> Regarding the main point of your email, we are doing all you suggest.The post of Head Coach was advertised in February, I and the recruitment agency we appointed have proactively approached leading coaches both in the UK and abroad, and we are working towards a final interview process in mid April. Everything else you read in the press is pure speculation.
>
> I have one thought in mind and that is to appoint the best available person for the job.
>
> You will forgive me if we do not continue this dialogue as there is a lot of work to be done. Rest assured I have noted your comments.
>
> Yours sincerely,
>
> Paul Downton

Note to Bailers: I am a bit more sceptical, and a bit less naive, than the following reply may seem. But I liked the reply (as you can read) - I think he probably goes as far as he could (and he has legal training!) - and the rest of the proverbial pudding is in the eating.

...................................................................................................................

Me
To Paul Downton
Today at 4:33 PM

Dear Paul,

Thank you for taking the time to reply personally - and courteously - to my email, in a way that appears to me both fair-minded and balanced.

I feel reassured by the measured and eminently reasonable tone of your words - and await further developments with the hope and expectation of any enthusiastic fan of English and England cricket.

Best wishes with your selection procedure, and in your work generally,

Yeah, credit to Shabby for sending something more than an automated or stock response, which I would have expected to be the most you could hope for!

Yeah, fair play to him for replying. I think that it's pretty indicative of their respective characters, in the differing responses you received.

That's exactly what I thought.

Hence my particular highlighting of the courtesy, fair-mindedness and balance in the second man's response.

And the "Paul".

Sorry to be the dissenting voice here, but it looked a pretty stock reply to me.

taipan wrote:Sorry to be the dissenting voice here, but it looked a pretty stock reply to me.

Thats what i thought. Just a longwinded way of saying nothing.

Big Dog wrote:

taipan wrote:Sorry to be the dissenting voice here, but it looked a pretty stock reply to me.

Thats what i thought.  Just a longwinded way of saying nothing.

And leave me alone because I am busy with important shit.

He did seem to respond to the points made though, rather than answer questions that weren't asked, or just say "We're sorry to hear you think England are crap, we are doing our best to rectify the situation, normal service will be resumed shortly".

I'm preparing an email of my own and will see if I get the same responses, and in the exact same words!

beamer wrote:He did seem to respond to the points made though, rather than answer questions that weren't asked, or just say "We're sorry to hear you think England are crap, we are doing our best to rectify the situation, normal service will be resumed shortly".

I'm preparing an email of my own and will see if I get the same responses, and in the exact same words!

Fair comment. Lets see. But maybe I am getting cynical in my old age and...

> Regarding the main point of your email, we are doing all you suggest.The post of Head Coach was advertised in February, I and the recruitment agency we appointed have proactively approached leading coaches both in the UK and abroad, and we are working towards a final interview process in mid April. Everything else you read in the press is pure speculation.
>
> I have one thought in mind and that is to appoint the best available person for the job.
>
> You will forgive me if we do not continue this dialogue as there is a lot of work to be done. Rest assured I have noted your comments.

He's probably getting a number of emails like this, and guess he is unlikely to be sitting there composing individual responses to each one. He may well have a set of standard response paragraphs for his staff to issue - "if they ask about KP, use this one, if they ask about Giles use this" etc. At least whoever is putting responses together is making an effort to make them look like personalised responses to some extent.