LONDON, (Reuters) – Success in England’s five-match  one-day series against West Indies is crucial to interim coach  Andy Flower’s chances of being given the role on a full time  basis, former coach Duncan Fletcher said on Friday.

The England coaching role has been vacant since Peter Moores  was sacked in January after his relationship with then captain  Kevin Pietersen broke down.

But Flower, in the frame to take the job permanently, has  not managed to turn around a barren run of form that has left  England without a single victory in 14 official internationals.

“Flower may be worth a gamble.”

“But the facts are that  England have so far struggled against a pretty ordinary side in  the Caribbean,” Fletcher wrote in the Guardian newspaper.

“If by the end of the one-day series there are still no  signs of improvement, it would feel very strange indeed to name  Flower as coach.”

The England and Wales Cricket board (ECB) has said it hopes  to have a new coach in place in time for the home series against  West Indies in May.

Fletcher said the successful candidate would need to have a  proven track record, something which may disadvantage former  Zimbabwe test player Flower, who has little coaching experience.

“I know Flower has worked a bit with Essex, but surely the  ECB are looking for more than that,” said Fletcher.

“It seems clear that he’s developed a good understanding  with Andrew Strauss — and after the shenanigans with Peter  Moores and Kevin Pietersen that’s no bad thing — but coaches  should not be appointed because they get on with people.”