Defiant Graveney insist he will not quit

David Graveney: 'I'm not going to fall on my sword because this is what I do' © Getty Images

David Graveney has insisted that he will not quit as England's chairman of selectors, although he has admitted that he is under pressure following England's Ashes defeat and World Cup disappointment.

"It's been a tough time,' Graveney said in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail. "Mistakes were made. There were points during the winter when it might have gone differently but ultimately we have to be judged on results."

Graveney took on the role in 1995, and in recent months the calls for him to stand down have grown. But he said his critics were "good, wise men and they have the best interests of England cricket at heart."

Recently Nasser Hussain, who captained England during Graveney's time at the helm, wrote that Duncan Fletcher had been left to carry the can for all England's failings because he [Graveney] was weak and the relationship had broken down. "It is over-stating it to say that it had broken down," Graveney countered. "The system of selection in place has been different at home and abroad and we have worked with that. It hasn't frustrated me. Duncan would ring me about things when he was on tour but essentially selection on tour was down to him and the captain.

"I understand that the longer you are in a job the more people might say 'let's get someone else', but I'm not going to fall on my sword because this is what I do. I'm the head of a family and I need to carry on.

"I've never understood this resigning business. It's up to other people to decide whether I'm still the right man for the job, and if they feel it's time to go then I will just have to go." With a report into the future of English cricket pending, Graveney admitted he was in a "state of limbo", but he was still looking to the future.

"The priority is to address the mistakes that have been made and to get us playing good cricket again. Clearly, we indulged in too much backslapping after winning the Ashes and probably thought that we were better than we are, but a lot of progress was made before this winter and we have to get back to that."