Stephen Fleming to be appointed England’s new test coach
Stephen Fleming is close to being appointed as England’s new test coach after emerging as the No 1 candidate following a week of interviews.
Fleming, the former New Zealand captain, has emerged as the preferred candidate for the job, replacing – but also working in tandem with – his compatriot Brendon McCullum.
McCullum was sacked as test coach earlier this month, after Ben Stokes’ retirement, leaving England without a coach or captain. Their next test is three weeks away at Headingley, the first of three matches against Pakistan.
It is understood that the England and Wales Cricket Board is keen to give the job to the 53-year-old Fleming, who played 111 tests for the Black Caps, and that his appointment is close after an interview process.
The ECB declined to comment when approached by Telegraph Sport.
It is unclear whether Fleming will be in position for the first test against Pakistan. In recent days, the ECB has intimated that it is relaxed about the prospect of assistant coach Marcus Trescothick filling in on an interim basis for that series, before the new coach takes over properly for the tour of South Africa in December, their next test assignment. England have only 10 tests before next summer’s home Ashes; they have not won a series against Australia since 2015, and winning back the urn will be Fleming’s first major task.
Fleming appears to have beaten off competition from English candidates Richard Dawson and Jonathan Trott, as well as Tom Moody, an Australian. The initial favourite for the role was Andy Flower, but he ruled himself out to focus on his franchise commitments with Royal Challengers Bengaluru and London Spirit. On Wednesday, Justin Langer, the former Australia batsman and coach, confirmed that he had not spoken to the ECB about the job. Recruitment has been led by Rob Key, the managing director, in conjunction with headhunters.
After his retirement from international cricket in 2008, Fleming had a long association with Chennai Super Kings, the Indian Premier League franchise, as head coach. As well as working for CSK, Fleming ran their subsidiary franchises in Major League Cricket (Texas Super Kings) and South Africa’s SA20 (Joburg Super Kings).
But Fleming left the Super Kings earlier this month, shortly after McCullum was sacked, opening up the possibility that he could take over the England job. He also worked in English cricket with Southern Brave in the Hundred for two years until 2024, and had a distinguished playing spell with Nottinghamshire as well as stints at Yorkshire and Middlesex.
McCullum had been test coach since May 2022 and in charge of all formats since the start of 2025. But after last month’s defeat by New Zealand, he was removed from the role of test coach, but will continue to lead the white-ball sides.
That makes his relationship with the new test coach crucial, and he and Fleming are old teammates from their time in New Zealand. McCullum made his test debut under Fleming’s captaincy and considered him a mentor.
They were also once business partners, both at the digital platform CricHQ, and another company exporting meat from New Zealand to India.
Fleming had a distinguished first-class career, but has not coached in the red-ball game for some years, or worked in county cricket since his playing days. He is considered an outstanding tactician and man manager, both from his time as a player and leader at CSK, where he won five IPL titles.
It is expected that former captain Joe Root will lead the side against Pakistan, but it will be in the new coach’s gift to decide who is given the long-term role. The other realistic candidate is Harry Brook, who has struck up a good relationship leading the white-ball teams with McCullum.