Last Updated on 56 minutes ago by Charbel Coorey
Stephen Fleming is set to become England’s next men’s Test coach. The ECB became interested in the former New Zealand captain when his time at Chennai Super Kings (CSK) came to an end in July.
That is according to a report in Telegraph Sport, which revealed that Fleming has emerged as the number one candidate following interviews and former Australia coach Justin Langer also speaking of his interest for the job.
ECB keen to appoint Stephen Fleming as England Test coach
It is unclear whether Fleming will be available for the first Test against Pakistan starting August 19. However, it has previously been reported that the ECB is willing to hand Marcus Trescothick the role on an interim basis.
It is believed Fleming’s relationship with Brendon McCullum is a key factor in the ECB’s decision-making process. McCullum was sacked as Test coach following England’s 2-1 series loss to New Zealand, but was retained for the white-ball formats.
The Test and white-ball coach may need to closely work together to allocate resources in England’s busy schedule across formats. One point of contention is Harry Brook’s role and whether he can captain across all three formats.
Fleming and McCullum not only played together for New Zealand, but were business partners at digital platform CricHQ. The pair also worked together at a company exporting meat from New Zealand to India.
Should Fleming land the role, he would have beaten off competition from the likes of Jonathan Trott and Richard Dawson. Andy Flower was previously the ECB’s number one target, but the Zimbabwean ruled himself out of contention due to other commitments.
Fleming enjoyed success with CSK, winning five titles and playing a key role in their status as one of the IPL’s biggest teams. His lack of involvement in red-ball cricket is a concern to some, but his man-management skills makes him a strong candidate.
Joe Root is expected to lead against Pakistan but CricBlog understands the new Test coach will have the call on who will captain full time.
After the three Tests against Pakistan, England will embark on a three-Test tour of South Africa in December. They have just 10 Tests before next year’s Ashes, which they are desperate to win back as they have not held the coveted urn since 2017/18.
