Duncan Fletcher, the England coach who helped Vaughan's team win the Ashes four years ago, fears there will be tricky times ahead for Strauss.

"What a mess," Fletcher exclaims in The Guardian. "How sad for English cricket that a year containing a home Ashes series has begun in such chaos.

"The selectors really should have stepped in before things turned ugly. Instead, England are in real trouble with the arrival of the Australians only a few months away. It all seems such a shame."

Fletcher believes Strauss, expected to lead on the odi leg as well as in the Tests in the Caribbean despite his perceived ineffectiveness as a limited-overs batsman may find himself trying to unite divided factions within the team.