Stephen Fleming may be the fifth foreign coach to take charge of England’s test team, but the New Zealander hopes he will not be the last import. Fleming said he wants his eventual successor to be English and pledged to nurture domestic coaching talent during his tenure.
Fleming was appointed in July to replace compatriot Brendon McCullum, joining Australians Trevor Bayliss and the Zimbabwean pair of Duncan Fletcher and Andy Flower as overseas coaches who have led the test side.
A National Team, a National Coach
“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.
The 53-year-old expressed gratitude for the opportunity while stressing that development would be a central theme of his time in charge.
“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, having last week named former England players Marcus Trescothick, Richard Dawson and James Foster among his backroom team.
Balancing Duties With McCullum
Fleming also underlined the importance of a strong working relationship with former New Zealand teammate McCullum, who remains in charge of England’s limited-overs side with the Ashes and the Cricket World Cup looming next year.
“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,” he said.
“We then move to the Ashes, which is obviously the milestone event for the summer next year, and then there’s the World Cup.
“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 visit South Africa for a three-test series beginning in December.
