England are once again set to be guided by a New Zealander with former Black Caps skipper Stephen Fleming set to be appointed as Brendon McCullum’s replacement as Test coach.
The Telegraph reported that Fleming emerged as the ECB’s number one candidate after a week of interviews with the leading contenders.
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The 53-year-old, who played 111 Tests for New Zealand as a top order batter, is said to have beaten out the likes of former England players Jonathan Trott and Richard Dawson as well as Australian Tom Moody.
Justin Langer was not part of those interviews with the former Australian coach telling the Stick to Cricket podcast on Wednesday that he had not been contacted by the ECB despite being linked with the role in the aftermath of McCullum’s sacking earlier this month.
England’s managing director Rob Key has led the recruitment process and has taken a liking to Fleming, who has an extensive resume coaching in T20 leagues around the world.
He stepped down as coach of the IPL’s Chennai Super Kings earlier this month, bringing to an end an eight-year tenure after also being in charge in Chennai from 2009 to 2015.
Fleming connection with CSK has led to him taking charge of the Joburg Super Kings in the SA20 and the Texas Super Kings in the MLC across the last four years too.
While he is also had a stint in the Big Bash League with the Melbourne Stars from 2015 to 2019.
As a player, Fleming held a close connection to the English game, playing for Middlesex, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, where he captained them to the County Championship title in 2005.
“By appointing Stephen Fleming as Test coach, England have chosen a candidate who will command respect from the dressing room but will be a figurehead rather than a hands-on technical overseer of the team,” The Telegraph’s chief cricket correspondent Nick Hoult wrote.
“Fleming is not a coach in the true sense of the word. Others such as Richard Dawson and Jonathan Trott – who were interviewed by Rob Key, the ECB managing director – are coaches who relish spending hours with players in the nets, throwing balls and nurturing techniques. Andy Flower, too, still loves to get his hands dirty.
“Fleming will probably be like Brendon McCullum in that he is a captain in a coach’s job, although his years as a director of cricket in the Indian Premier League suggest he will sweat the details much better than his old New Zealand teammate. He is also a “big name”, someone with more than just coaching badges on his CV. Whereas South Africa, New Zealand and to a certain extent Australia have low-profile Test coaches, England think they need a little more glamour to command the room. Perhaps English players still need to see the medals of those giving them instruction.”
It is uncertain whether Fleming will take over the role by the time England’s next Test assignment – a three-match home series against Pakistan – begins at Headingley on August 19.
The Telegraph’s report suggests that batting coach Marcus Trescothick will step in on an interim basis as England try to win a Test series at home for the first time in two years against a team that has not won a Test match away from home in the last three years.
It is also expected that Joe Root will be the captain for that series.
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Fleming will certainly be on deck for December’s tour of South Africa, but there will undoubtedly be an eye within in the English hierarchy towards next year’s Ashes on home soil.
There will also be the need for Fleming to collaborate with his old teammate McCullum, who was sacked as Test coach but remains in charge of England’s white-ball sides.
“Fleming will naturally enjoy a good relationship with McCullum, his business partner and friend,” Hoult wrote.
“Their chumminess will be crucial to making the split-coach model work, bearing in mind it has always failed when England have tried it.
“You suspect much of Fleming’s knowledge of the England team will come from McCullum and his influence will remain. How they share Brook’s workload, whether Fleming wants him as captain and how they manage the multi-format cricketers will be integral to the success of the operation.”
The split coaches challenge is one that Langer, who is coaching the Manchester Super Giants in The Hundred, said he would not be up for.
“It can work if you get the right people, and they’ve got to get on very well, they’ve got to have the same thinking,” he told the Stick to Cricket podcast.
“If you’re the head coach you should oversee all of it. It doesn’t mean you have to be there for all of it. But they’ve got to be really on the same page. And the director of cricket has to be. They’ve got to work hand in glove. If they work well together it could work, but there hasn’t been too many examples where it has worked.
“If you’re the head coach of the Test team, you want your 11 best players on the park. It’s personnel, that’s a big part of it. What’s more important, the World Test Championship or the T20 World Cup? It’s like a game of chess now, honestly.”
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