I'll never resign... they'll have to sack me, says Graveney

In this revealing interview, Graveney, much-maligned and seemingly on the brink of being replaced by a new, more powerful director of cricket, talked about the uncertainty he faces as he prepares to pick the England team for the first Test, his fractious relationship with former coach Duncan Fletcher and his insistence that he will never resign.

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He also accepted that he may well follow Fletcher out of the ECB door, talked of how he has made a concerted attempt to be less sensitive to criticism and admitted to the mistakes that were made in this "chastening" winter.

Most of all, he wants to carry on because: "I'm a cricket man and this is what I do. It's been a tough time," said Graveney, who became a selector in 1995 and chairman two years later.

"Mistakes were made. There were points during the winter when it might have gone differently but ultimately we have to be judged on results."

Now this former Gloucestershire captain and spin bowler, manager, selector and administrator is at the crossroads.

He has seen Mike Atherton, Alec Stewart and Nasser Hussain come and go as England captain and David Lloyd and Fletcher depart as coaches.

In that time Graveney has overseen defeat in five Ashes series, the one glorious triumph in 2005, and three dreadful World Cup campaigns. He knows the next bullet may well have his name on it.

"I've been around longer than most," said Graveney, 54. "It's a part-time role to a large extent, and I have to combine it with work for the PCA, but it is my main source of income.

"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."

For now it's business as usual, with a new coach in Peter Moores and a team to be selected to face the West Indies at Lord's on May 17.

Graveney identifies the balance of the England team and the wicketkeeping slot as the biggest issues facing the selectors.

They meet next week, but they know that Ken Schofield's report into the state of English cricket is due to be delivered the week after, and it may not make pretty reading for the chairman.

"I haven't met Ken Schofield but I've talked to two of his committee, Hugh Morris and Brian Rose," said Graveney.

"The worst thing from my point of view is that I feel in a state of limbo. 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."

Some big names feel it is time for Graveney to go, notably Sportsmail columnist Hussain, a member of the Schofield Committee, and Bob Willis.

"They are good, wise men and they have the best interests of England cricket at heart," said Graveney.

"I just know I still feel I can do a job for England. The selection system has come in for criticism and at times it hasn't worked well but other times it has worked very well."

Hussain reserves his most stinging criticism for Graveney's relationship with Fletcher, saying the chairman was weak in leaving the coach to make all the big decisions and carry the can for them.

Graveney denies his relationship with Fletcher was "broken'. "It is over-stating it to say that it had broken down," he said.

"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."

If this is to be the end, and Hussain and Stewart are the first names to be linked with an expected director of cricket role, what would Graveney do next?

"I don't know, to be honest," he said. "I need a plan for the rest of my life. But I still have the same amount of pride and enthusiasm for the job as when I first started.

"Quite a lot has actually been achieved over the last 10 years. It would be nice if people thought I might be responsible for some of that."