New England Test head coach Stephen Fleming has made a striking admission before even taking charge of his first series: he believes the national team should be coached by an Englishman — even though the New Zealander himself has just taken the job.
Stephen Fleming (Credits: BBC)
The former New Zealand captain, appointed in July to succeed his fellow Kiwi Brendon McCullum, will take charge for the first time in the three-Test series against South Africa in December. Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, he said developing homegrown coaches will be a “priority” of his tenure.
“I do believe that primarily the national team should be coached by a national representative,” Fleming said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity, but there will be some development in terms of the coaching, and you can see by our staff.”
A Familiar Overseas Trend
Fleming is the latest in a long line of overseas appointments. Since 1999, only two Englishmen — Peter Moores and Chris Silverwood — have led the Test side, while Zimbabweans Duncan Fletcher and Andy Flower, Australian Trevor Bayliss, and Fleming himself have all held the top job. McCullum remains in charge of the white-ball setup, selector Marcus North is Australian, and Leah Poulton was recently announced as managing director of England women.
Fleming’s backroom team, announced last week, leans heavily homegrown: former England opener Marcus Trescothick, ex-wicketkeeper James Foster and former spinner Richard Dawson are on board, while Ashes winner Jonathan Trott is about to begin a spell with England Lions. Both Trott and Dawson were candidates for the Test job before Fleming’s appointment.
Reconnecting With the County Game
Fleming also vowed to spend more time around county cricket than his predecessor managed — one of the persistent criticisms of McCullum’s four-year spell. Having played for Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire and Middlesex himself, Fleming confirmed he will spend part of next summer watching domestic cricket ahead of the home Ashes.
“I’ll be around and I really enjoyed this year getting to catch up,” he said. “It will be a key part to continuing developing players.”
The squad for the South Africa tour is due to be named in the first week of November.
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Source: BBC Sport — read the full story there.