England’s new Test coach Stephen Fleming has set his sights on taking the team to number one in the world after kicking off his reign with a “tour of love” across the county game.
The former New Zealand captain was appointed in July but has just taken the reins after sitting out the 3-0 defeat of Pakistan due to family commitments.
He has spent his first week in the country checking in with his captain Joe Root, director of cricket Rob Key and ground hopping with visits to five Rothesay County Championship matches in three days.
On Saturday he was at Emirates Old Trafford to link up with his predecessor Brendon McCullum, who remains in charge of the white-ball squad.
And he made his ultimate aim clear from day one – lifting the side from fifth in the rankings back to the summit for the first time since 2012 and putting right the nation’s dreadful record in the World Test Championship.
“I would love to be in charge of the number Test team in the world. That would be my aspiration,” he said.
“There have been some really good moments (for this side) but I think there’s more to give. One of the dark arts of coaching is timing and my honest appraisal is that it’s a great time to be the head coach.
“It’s one of the most prestigious jobs in cricket. I was very honoured to be asked. The opportunity to take up this role was one you don’t turn down.”
England have never come to close to reaching the WTC final in four editions since it was launched – and lie sixth in the current table – but Fleming is keen to oversee a change of emphasis when it comes to that competition.
On its importance, he said: “High. England could do much better than that.
“If that’s one of the pinnacle trophies in world cricket, why would we not be trying to get it along with every other marquee event that comes our way? It’s aspirational and that’s why I’m here. That opportunity is real, but there’s a huge amount of work to do.”
That work began with Fleming building – and reigniting – his connection with a domestic game that often felt alienated under the previous regime of McCullum and Ben Stokes.
A title winner with Nottinghamshire in 2005 and a former player of both Middlesex and Yorkshire, he has already embraced the circuit.
“It’s been a tour of love,” he said.
“I have been kissing county coaches’ heads, meeting new players, reintroducing myself to players I played with who are now in positions of authority at counties. I have a deep respect for the county game and what it can offer. It is a key part of English cricket so to reconnect, do some miles on the M1 and immerse myself in that over the last three days has been really good.”
His relationship with fellow Kiwi McCullum will be critical to the success of England’s latest job-share experiment between formats, with the pair not only former team-mates but also firm friends and business partners.
At 53 he is the elder man by nine years and accepted he would be taking the ‘big brother’ role – “yeah, you probably could say that” – in a partnership that will need careful management.
“It’s nice to be in a position to work with him, it’s been a while,” he said.
“It is an advantage that we will be able to talk fairly openly and be robust….we don’t have to spend time getting to know each other as coaches.”
McCullum’s ultra-aggressive style was widely branded as ‘Bazball’, not always fondly, and Fleming was quick to shut down the notion of ‘Flemball’.
“I think that’s a medical condition!” he joked.
