Stephen Fleming is expected to be named as England’s Test coach after impressing the England and Wales Cricket Board in a series of interviews over the past two weeks. The 53-year-old would work alongside his predecessor, compatriot, former teammate and friend , who remains in charge of the white-ball teams.
The New Zealander is likely to start on the South Africa tour in December, although the three Tests against Pakistan that begin at Headingley on 19 August may still be overseen by an interim coach, probably Marcus Trescothick.
Fleming stood down as head coach of the Indian Premier League franchise Chennai Super Kings, as well as their subsidiaries Joburg Super Kings in South Africa’s SA20 and Texas Super Kings in America’s Major League Cricket, this month. That announcement came after CSK finished eighth out of 10 teams in this year’s IPL, following a last-place finish in 2025, and less than 24 hours after as Test coach.
Why does Fleming fit the England role?
Fleming has extensive experience of English cricket, not just from playing 10 Tests and 17 ODIs in this country between 1994 and 2004, but also from spells at Middlesex, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire. He also coached Southern Brave in the Hundred for two years, leaving in 2024.
He was approached by England in 2009, shortly after he retired as a player, only to turn them down.
“I was flattered to be offered,”
“It came down to the fact it wasn’t my time. If I get another couple of years [as a coach] I can see if it is what I want to do and if I would be any good at it.”
England ended up turning to Andy Flower, who, to replace McCullum, has now returned the favour by and opening the door for Fleming’s appointment.
How did McCullum’s connection help?
Fleming’s relationship with McCullum gave him an advantage over his rivals for the England job, the Australian Tom Moody, the former England batter and Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott and Richard Dawson, the head coach at Glamorgan. Beyond their friendship, the pair have been business associates at two companies, the software company CricHQ and the export business Quality New Zealand.
Daniel Vettori, another former New Zealand captain coaching in England at Sunrisers Leeds, described the pair as:
“very good friends”
“a lot of similar traits”.
McCullum made 126 of his 432 international appearances under Fleming’s captaincy before taking over from him and has described him as a major influence.
“The way Stephen Fleming led the team tactically was something that really resonated with me,”
“He’s one of my great mates as well now, and what I loved about Stephen Fleming is whilst on the field it looked quite instinctive there was always scores and scores of detail in behind.
“The other thing I loved about him was his man management as a leader. It’s very hard to ask players to implement the plans that you have if you don’t understand those players.”
