Stephen Fleming believes England’s Test team should primarily be coached by an Englishman, despite being the New Zealander appointed to lead the side following Brendon McCullum’s departure from the role.
Fleming, who took over in July, said he was grateful for the opportunity but wanted to help develop home-grown coaching talent during his tenure. He is the fifth overseas coach to lead England’s Test team, following McCullum, Australian Trevor Bayliss and Zimbabweans Duncan Fletcher and Andy Flower.
“I do believe that primarily the national team should be coached by a national representative,” Fleming told the BBC in a podcast released on Monday.
Fleming said developing English coaches would be part of his work, pointing to the make-up of his backroom staff as an example of that approach.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity, but there will be some development in terms of the coaching, and you can see by our staff,” he said.
Former England players Marcus Trescothick, Richard Dawson and James Foster are among the coaches in Fleming’s support team. Their appointments reflect his intention to strengthen local coaching expertise while preparing the Test side for a demanding international schedule.
Fleming’s comments come as England continue to rely on overseas coaches for the Test role. His ambition is for the national side to develop the people who could eventually take charge themselves.
Fleming also stressed the importance of working closely with McCullum, his former New Zealand team-mate, who remains England’s white-ball head coach.
The two will need to manage resources across the formats as England prepare for a three-Test tour of South Africa in December, the Ashes next year and the Cricket World Cup.
“At some stage you’re going to have to give up some of your key assets. We look at what’s coming up, there’s a Test series for us against South Africa,” Fleming said.
He added that keeping players fit and fielding competitive teams across the major events would be a challenge.
“We then move to the Ashes, which is obviously the milestone event for the summer next year, and then there’s the World Cup,” he said.
“Making sure that the players are as fit as can be for each of those marquee events and that we turn out good sides is going to be a challenge.”
England’s tour of South Africa begins in December. Fleming’s immediate task is to prepare the Test team, while his longer-term ambition includes helping develop English coaches who could eventually succeed him.
