‘One of the best’: Baz ally locked in as new England boss, fresh Root twist as Langer issues warning

England will again be guided by a New Zealander, with former Black Caps skipper Stephen Fleming appointed as Brendon McCullum’s replacement as Test coach, while Joe Root has returned as skipper.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Thursday night (AEST) confirmed Fleming would guide England Men’s Test team, starting with the winter tour to South Africa.

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Root has been reappointed as England Test captain. His first spell as Test captain was from 2017 to 2022.

As first reported by The Telegraph, Fleming emerged as the ECB’s number one candidate after a week of interviews with the leading contenders.

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.

“I’m incredibly excited to be joining England as Test Coach. It’s one of the most prestigious coaching positions in world cricket and I am honoured to be appointed,” Fleming said.

“I am looking forward to working with the players and bedding in the gains made by Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes. Of course, the ambition is always to win now. But equally, it’s about ensuring the team is well placed for the medium and long-term future. There is a lot of young talent in and around the team and our aim is to help them fulfil their potential as world-class cricketers.

“I’m particularly looking forward to working with Joe Root as Captain – a generational talent who has achieved so much already. There is still plenty more to come from him, and I’m excited to support him so he can enjoy and thrive in the role in what is a different context to his first stint.

“I’m also excited to work with Harry Brook. The best players are never finished products, and helping Harry continue to develop his extraordinary talent and his leadership will be an important part of this journey.

“I know what it feels like to have the weight of leadership and international cricket take their toll, and when that happened to me, my love for the game was rekindled by going to Notts and winning the County Championship. English cricket gave that to me and it is a privilege to have this chance to give something back.”

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.

“Stephen Fleming is one of the most highly respected figures in cricket, and we are very fortunate that someone of his calibre is willing to take on the challenge of being the England Men’s Test Head Coach,” Key said.

“I believe he is the best person to guide a team stacked full of potential and turn that talent into a world-class outfit that can not only achieve success but sustain it.

“I am excited by the prospect of him working with Joe Root who will get the opportunity to lead free from the Covid restrictions that the Test team faced at the end of his first stint as captain. Joe is undoubtedly an England great and he is passionate about leading this team into a new era.”

ECB chief executive Richard Gould added: “Stephen is one of the very best coaches in the world who has a proven track record of building winning environments for the long-term. We believe that his leadership style, alongside Joe Root, can drive the men’s Test team forward.”

Fleming 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’s 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.

Fleming will take over the role after the start of the upcoming three-Test series against Pakistan, which begins at Headingley on August 19. 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.

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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,” The Telegraph’s Nick 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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