How Stephen Fleming can take England beyond Bazball’s limits

There was just one day between Brendon McCullum and Stephen Fleming leaving their last jobs.

Two weeks on, Fleming has taken over from his Kiwi compatriot as head coach of the England Test side, teaming up with returning captain Joe Root as England enters its next chapter after McCullum and Ben Stokes’ high-octane four years together.

Fleming comes into the role with a reputation as one of the game’s finest thinkers and an impressive white-ball CV to back it up. Lasting 17 years with Chennai Super Kings in the ever more fickle world of franchise cricket is an achievement in itself. Across those 15 seasons, he won five IPL titles, reached the playoffs 11 times (including nine consecutive between 2009 and 2020), and added two Champions League T20 crowns.

He has also coached Melbourne Stars to two Big Bash League finals, Southern Brave to second and third-place finishes in The Hundred, and Texas Super Kings to three consecutive playoff appearances in Major League Cricket.

Though the 53-year-old has never coached a red-ball side, his record as New Zealand’s Test captain leaves little doubt about his credentials. Only two players (Graeme Smith and Allan Border) have led their side in more Test matches than Fleming’s 80 (interestingly, he and Root are tied for the second-most defeats as captain). He also has strong links to County cricket through stints with Middlesex, Yorkshire, and Nottinghamshire, the last of which he captained to the County Championship for the first time in 18 years in his first season in charge.

Pragmatism is here to stay

Fleming’s previous body of work offers an interesting riposte to the ideologue that was Brendon McCullum. He is decidedly more pragmatic than McCullum, whose unyielding commitment to an ultra-aggressive style of cricket ultimately proved to be his downfall. He also has a greater reputation for meticulous preparation. Yet there is a clear overlap in how the two manage players.

Much of McCullum’s early tenure focused on creating the ideal environment for England’s players to execute their skills, and Fleming’s most successful CSK sides placed a similar emphasis on that philosophy. CSK’s most successful sides were built around experienced, often ageing, squads. Players operated in relaxed environments and were trusted to prepare in ways that suited them.

Some of that approach was shaped by the demands of franchise cricket at the time, but it could provide continuity in how England operates if Fleming can successfully smooth out the rough edges that emerged during the second half of McCullum’s tenure.

Root as captain

One of the earliest litmus tests of Fleming’s tenure will be how he manages his captain, the returning Joe Root. Root was one of the unmitigated successes of the McCullum-Stokes era. He batted with not only metronomic consistency but also the freedom and joy he had sorely missed after enduring a torrid spell as captain during the COVID years.

While he was arguably the best Test batter in the world as captain, scoring 5418 runs in 65 matches at an average of 46.70, including 1708 runs in 2021, he began to visibly suffer the effects of having to hold his team together through difficult tours of India and Australia under COVID regulations.

“I had loved leading my country but recently it’s hit home how much of a toll it has taken on me and the impact it has had on me away from the game,” he said in his resignation in 2022.

There is perhaps even a parallel in the way Root and Fleming’s final spells as captain unfolded. Both were key figures in immensely successful teams where credit was shared around. But as defeats became more frequent, they became the public face of failure and ultimately paid the price.

Insulating Root from the pressures of the job to ensure he can bat with freedom will therefore become one of Fleming’s immediate priorities.

Evolving with the game

If Fleming’s CSK teams were built around an experienced core, adapting after that generation moved on proved to be his biggest challenge, with the side failing to reach the last-four stage in his final three seasons in charge.

CSK was caught out by the attacking wave that swept through the IPL, often getting outgunned by opponents with superior firepower. In its attempts to replace the likes of Ambati Rayudu, Dwayne Bravo, Imran Tahir, and Ravindra Jadeja, it turned to players who were either ill-equipped or not yet ready to fill the sizeable shoes of those who came before them.

In that context, this England team is an intriguing group for Fleming to inherit. Harry Brook (despite previously serving as vice-captain), Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, and Josh Tongue have all shown glimpses of immense potential. But they have yet to make the leap into elite Test operators in the way Root and Jofra Archer have.

That may well be why Fleming and England are the ideal fit for this moment. England offers Fleming the chance to prove he can evolve with the modern game. In return, England gets the quiet, responsible adult who could help it take the final step towards becoming an elite Test side.

Published on Jul 31, 2026