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“Flemball? That’s a medical condition.” Stephen Fleming’s first press conference as England Test coach was exactly what you would expect from a man appointed to bring calm to a team that had started to career off course.
While the Manchester rain did its worst outside, Fleming was the handsome sea captain on top of his ship, even if that ship had to float without him during the Test series against Pakistan. England won 3-0 while Fleming saw to family and commercial commitments. But the wait has given him thinking time to work out what he wants to achieve.
“I would love to be in charge of the No 1 Test team in the world. That would be my aspiration... and as a New Zealander I have watched and loved the Ashes all my cricketing life so to be part of that is an absolute highlight. I can’t wait for that.”
He also threw his weight behind the World Test Championship, which New Zealand won in 2021, but England have treated with little regard. “It’s aspirational. England could do much better than that, even the attitude around the over-rate comes down to identity and style of play. 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?”
His predecessor, Brendon McCullum, who stays on as white-ball coach, is an old friend and teammate. Fleming, it was suggested, played the big brother role. “You could probably say that. It’s a challenge at times, but he’s great. We’ve a lot of shared experience through cricket and socially, sport and golf. I have a lot of respect for him.
“The way they [McCullum and Ben Stokes] changed the nature of Test cricket was quite remarkable. I have a huge amount of respect for the courage that took.
“The last 12 months, it hasn’t evolved as they would have liked or the fans would have liked, but I really loved the positive play and the freeing up of the England players, which was deemed to be a bit of a hurdle. If I could take that and combine a bit of cricket sense in the key moments …
“There is a piece of work there that has already begun, which is around our identity. There has been a lot of coverage around that. The way players represent England and the group is going to be really important to me. I feel very strongly about finding a sense of belonging within the group and that will take a bit of time.”
But they will have to do it without Stokes. Fleming’s “tour of love” around the counties this past week included a stop off at Chester-le-Street where he met Stokes who had just completed a mammoth bowling stint. “He’s really happy and seemed to be at peace with his decision. He seems comfortable with what he’s doing. My view: when a player decides to retire it’s a big decision and I have the utmost respect for that decision.”
Fleming spent time playing for Middlesex, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, where he won the County Championship in 2005, and that was a big draw in his decision to take the job. “I was coming to the end of my captaincy and I was on the edge of falling out of love with the game. I got a call from Mick Newell to captain Nottingham and I fell back in love with it. It kept me in the game in a really positive space. Those were three of my best seasons.”
He has been impressed on what he has seen of future players. “One of the dark arts of coaching is timing. My honest appraisal, it’s a great time to be the head coach. There’s a real opportunity with the players coming through.”
Middlesex win One-Day Cup to end white-ball wait
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Ryan Higgins [pictured] made a fine 100 and then took the key catch to dismiss fellow centurion Nick Kelly as Middlesex beat Leicestershire by 31 runs to win the Metro Bank One-Day Cup final at Trent Bridge.
Higgins’ first List A century and a 135-run sixth wicket partnership with Harry Duke (55) had earlier helped turn Middlesex’s innings around from 71 for five to 231 all out. After Leicestershire slipped to 79 for five, Kelly dug in with a determined 103 of his own.
Once Kelly had been caught by Higgins at mid-wicket off Tom Helm with nine overs left, Middlesex picked up the final two Leicestershire wickets to secure a first trophy since their 2016 Championship triumph, and first men's white-ball trophy since winning the Twenty20 Cup in 2008.
Higgins was out for 100, which came from 114 balls, and included nine fours, at the start of Middlesex’s 49th over, caught by Kelly when trying to go over long-on off Ian Holland. Leicestershire wicketkeeper Ben Cox took five consecutive catches while Holland claimed five for 36 and Rehan Ahmed three for 55.
After the Leicestershire captain, Stephen Eskinazi (12), was out at the start of the sixth over, the Foxes continued to lose wickets as Toby Roland-Jones took three for 27 in his 10-over spell. Kelly then steadied the innings alongside Holland to push Leicestershire’s reply on to 110 at the halfway stage.
The partnership was finally broken in the 29th over when Holland (15) was stumped off Zafar Gohar. Kelly brought up his century at the start of the 41st over, coming off 103 balls with 10 fours and three sixes before his resistance was finally broken. PA Media
Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA
Fleming played 111 Tests for New Zealand, and was their most successful captain, and has spent the past 18 years with Chennai. How would the switch from white-ball work? “I am inherently a red-ball lover and that was where I learned strategy, leadership, captaincy, the nuances of the game.
“If anything, I moulded myself into the white-ball world based on man-management and strategy and leadership, not necessarily as a white-ball strategist or a player.”
Test cricket fans can be take some succour from his optimism over the future of the game. “We are going to reach a point where something is going to have to give and it won’t be Test cricket because it just means too much to players and the cricket ecosystem will survive. Test cricket will survive.”
