Former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming has reportedly moved to the forefront of consideration to become England’s next Test coach. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) initiated interviews last week to find a successor to Brendon McCullum, who left the red-ball role after a period of poor performance, including a 4-1 Ashes series defeat.
Fleming's reported emergence as the leading candidate follows the withdrawal of former England chief Andy Flower and Justin Langer confirming he had not been approached. Fleming, 53, is understood to have a professional history with England’s white-ball head coach, McCullum, having played alongside him internationally and co-founded CricHQ.
Fleming recently left his role with Chennai Super Kings, where he secured five Indian Premier League triumphs, and has also coached Southern Brave in The Hundred. His departure from the Super Kings made him one of the few candidates not currently in an IPL position.
If appointed, one of Fleming’s initial responsibilities would be to announce a new England red-ball captain, as Ben Stokes retired from international cricket last month. England is currently ranked fifth in the world Test rankings and has not achieved a series triumph in 14 months.