Mandy's Boyfriend Has Been Given It. So Has an Albanian Pimp. but This Man, Whose Grandparents Were British, Whose Father Fought in the War - and Who, Oh Yes, Could Win Us the Ashes - Is Denied Citizenship. Could It Be Because He's White, Middle Class, Heterosexual and from Zimbabwe?

Byline: STEPHEN GLOVER

ALONG with half the nation, I shall be glued to the fifth and final Test which begins on Thursday, as I have been to the preceding four Tests. To win the Ashes, England need to win or draw. Only a couple of years ago, the notion that we might beat Australia would have seemed absurd. Now it is possible.

If England do regain the Ashes after 18 years, one man above all should take the credit, though by all accounts he is far too self-effacing and modest to do so. Most people who know about cricket believe that England would not have pulled themselves up from the also-rans of the game without the inspiration and leadership of their Zimbabweanborn coach, Duncan Fletcher.

In normal circumstances the coach of an England team achieving world supremacy - and that is what victory over Australia would represent - might expect a knighthood. That is what happened to Alf Ramsey after the 1966 World Cup and to Clive Woodward after England's rugby union team triumphed in Australia in 2003.

But Duncan Fletcher is unlikely to be holding out …

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Publication information: Article title: Mandy's Boyfriend Has Been Given It. So Has an Albanian Pimp. but This Man, Whose Grandparents Were British, Whose Father Fought in the War - and Who, Oh Yes, Could Win Us the Ashes - Is Denied Citizenship. Could It Be Because He's White, Middle Class, Heterosexual and from Zimbabwe?. Contributors: Not available. Newspaper title: Daily Mail (London). Publication date: September 6, 2005. Page number: 12. © 2007 Daily Mail. COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group.

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