South African World Cup coach Bob Woolmer, a front-runner to succeed David Lloyd as England's coach, all but ruled himself out here on Wednesday by saying he needed a break from the sport. Woolmer, a former English Test batsman who has been coaching South Africa since 1994, was on the England shortlist after Lloyd left after the hosts' exit from the World Cup. But Woolmer said: "I need to take a break and, as for `do I want to do it again', I don't know the answer to that question." He said of the England job: "While it's a prime job in English cricket, it's a tough one. Especially as I've been in the South Africa job for five years."

`Indian fans kayoed blundering England'

England's early exit was due as much to India's fans as to their own blunders, South African pace bowler Allan Donald said on Wednesday. "It was like Calcutta out there and England couldn't handle the pressure," Donald said. England lost to Mohammad Azharuddin's side by 63 runsafter a batting collapse at Edgbaston on Sunday. Most of the 17,000 sell-out crowd were made up of Indian fans.

Donald added: "Graeme Hick is an unbelievably good player but you could see from the look on his face that he was done for before he took guard. When he walked out and saw the Rae Bank Stand packed with Indian supporters, he must have thought he was in Calcutta."

Donald, whose South Africans are leading contenders for the title alongside Pakistan, added that England had contributed to their own downfall with a series of bad errors. He said Alec Stewart was wrong to put India in at Edgbaston, where Donald has played many years for Warwickshire. "By the time England had got in, the conditions had changed and the ball was doing all kinds of silly things. It was a completely different story and England paid the penalty," Donald said.

Lehmann unrepentant on poor form

Australian World Cup batsman Darren Lehmann is not ready to accept he is out of form - he has not spent enough time at thecrease to know. Lehmann, who lines up in the key game against India in the Super Sixes at The Oval on Friday, said: "I couldn't say I was out of form because I haven't been out there long enough. It would be a bit different if I was out there for 20 or 30 overs and made 20 or 30 runs. I've got to just keep being positive."

Lehmann did crack 76 in the defeat to New Zealand, giving him Australia's best Individual score of the tournament, but his other knocks have earned him a meagre return of nought, five and nine. "If you start to think too much about what's happening, then you get yourself in trouble," he said. "At the moment I can't see anything wrong with my game plan."