England's tour of Australia ended in surreal fashion, with a browbeaten side recovering their vigour to win the Commonwealth Bank one-day series and Duncan Fletcher extolling the words of Mother Teresa as his inspiration during the bleakest period of the Ashes winter.
"Mother Teresa said that when you are successful you win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies," he said. "I am quite philosophical about it. I will leave it at that."
The Catholic church has already begun the process of beatification for Mother Teresa, who spent a lifetime working among the poor of Kolkata until her death 10 years ago, but she remains one miracle short of official sainthood. Inspiring England to four successive wins, three against Australia, might just do the trick.
Fletcher has taken quite a battering since England's 5-0 Ashes whitewash. The implication that his critics have been driven by envy after his success in winning the Ashes in 2005 is, at best, contentious, but this unshakeable faith in his methods and beliefs continues to bolster him and, given a reasonable World Cup, will now ensure his survival.
Mother Teresa's comment was given to Fletcher by Alan Chambers, a motivational speaker and polar adventurer, who first spoke to England before their successful Ashes campaign in 2005. Chambers led the first British team to walk unsupported to the North Pole.
England's coach has got through with the help of a man who won the MBE for "determined leadership in constant adversity" and a religious worker known as "the saint of the gutters". Well, as everyone knows, it has been a tough tour.
"We call Alan Chambers the Ice Man," Fletcher said. "We use him to psychologically boost the side up. Spoke before the Ashes. He has kept in touch with me. It was all about an endurance test. He has sent me a few emails during this tour. He has been the most positive individual who has spoken to me on the tour. I just like positive people. Simple as that."
There were no radical shifts in England's one-day approach. Michael Vaughan's return as captain, although disrupted by injury, instilled new determination. Young players, such as Ed Joyce and Liam Plunkett, grasped their opportunity, encouraging the more experienced - Paul Collingwood and Andrew Flintoff - to follow suit. Durham can be proud of the character shown by Collingwood and Plunkett; what thoughts are passing through the head of their county colleague, Steve Harmison, as he opts instead for premature one-day retirement on the Northumberland coast?
Fletcher's insistence upon loyalty, when Vaughan injured a hamstring in Hobart and faith was kept in the stand-in captain Andrew Flintoff, also communicated something valuable. The show of trust - an assertion of basic, decent principles of behaviour in defiance of the evidence of a 5-0 Test whitewash - was appreciated by Flintoff and his relationship with the coach deepened as a result.
Australia's listless finish to the season helped. They remain World Cup favourites but the fact that both the captain, Ricky Ponting, and vice captain, Adam Gilchrist, will miss a short one-day tour to New Zealand illustrates their fatigue. The loss of Andrew Symonds after an arm operation proved a considerable blow. The heavy training schedule insisted upon by their coach, John Buchanan, so that their training could be tapered towards the World Cup, looked dubious and will be judged in the Caribbean.
Three weeks ago England's World Cup smacked of potential disaster; now their odds have been trimmed to as low as 13-2. With no team at their peak, England will imagine that anything is possible.
Fletcher said: "You can't deny that four wins in a row, three against Australia, have lifted the side. They were solid performances. I believe there is still huge improvement to be made. Hopefully they can produce that at the World Cup. If you are a positive coach and you believe in your players, you believe you can do anything. With young players you don't know what the limit is. That's what I've said on numerous occasions.
"These young guys can do it. When you see the mistakes they are still making, basic mistakes, then you realise what potential is there. Even when we were doing badly I always felt that we should give these guys a chance.
"I thought we were a year too early for the World Cup. Now I don't know where we are. Maybe we are six months too early. We might get to the World Cup and realise we are bang on target."
He will decide his future after the World Cup and the choice again seems to be in his hands. There are no signs that he has had his fill, although a World Cup of extremes - either embarrassing failure or the unexpected sight of England lifting the trophy - might change his mind.
"I reflect after every tour and I will do that after the World Cup. I have always felt that I have the support of the players. I still believe in my ability."
England's World Cup squad, to be announced tomorrow, will have few surprises. But after that nobody now knows what to expect.
Great sporting motivators
Johnny Cash
In March last year in Mumbai England's bowlers tore through the Indian batting line-up, seven wickets falling for 25 runs after a lunchtime session with the man in black. Andrew Flintoff revealed that the bowlers had gained inspiration from listening to Cash's Ring of Fire. "We played it and came out with a bit of a spring in our step," he said.
Tony Blair
The Prime Minister was leader of the Opposition when he made a pre-match appearance in Newcastle United's changing room during Kevin Keegan's reign at St James' Park.
Ray Winstone
The hard-man actor recited passages from Shakespeare's Henry V to England players in their last full training session before their quarter-final with Portugal at the 2006 World Cup. His inspirational efforts, though, ultimately proved unsuccessful.
Uri Geller
No inspirational speech, but plenty of motivational mindpower. In December 2001 Geller claimed credit for Newcastle's win at Arsenal. "I arrived late and had no ticket. But the moment I got out of the car and touched the Highbury stadium, Ray Parlour was sent off". Newcastle won 3-1.
