Stephen Fleming emerges as frontrunner for England's new Test coach

Stephen Fleming has emerged as the frontrunner to take charge of England's Test side, with the ECB understood to be close to confirming his appointment after a round of interviews concluded this week.

The 53-year-old former New Zealand skipper, who earned 111 Test caps for the Black Caps, is set to replace fellow Kiwi Brendon McCullum in the role, though the pair will need to work alongside one another.

McCullum was sacked as Test coach earlier this month following Ben Stokes' decision to retire, which left England lacking both a captain and head coach.

The first Test against Pakistan at Headingley is now just three weeks away.

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Whether Fleming will be in place for the Pakistan series remains uncertain.

The ECB has indicated it would be comfortable with assistant coach Marcus Trescothick stepping in on an interim basis for those three matches, with the new head coach then taking full charge for December's tour of South Africa.

England have just 10 Tests to prepare before hosting Australia next summer in what will be Fleming's defining early challenge - reclaiming the Ashes.

It is a trophy that has eluded England since their last series victory over Australia in 2015.

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Rob Key, the managing director, has overseen the recruitment process alongside external headhunters.

Fleming appears to have seen off competition from several other contenders, according to The Telegraph, including English coaches Richard Dawson and Jonathan Trott, along with Australian Tom Moody.

Andy Flower had initially been considered the favourite but withdrew to concentrate on his franchise roles with Royal Challengers Bengaluru and London Spirit.

Justin Langer also confirmed on Wednesday that he had held no discussions with the ECB.

Fleming's coaching pedigree was built primarily at Chennai Super Kings, where he served as head coach and guided the IPL franchise to five titles.

He also oversaw their affiliated teams in Major League Cricket and SA20.

His departure from the Super Kings organisation earlier this month, shortly after McCullum's sacking, cleared the path for him to pursue the England position.

Fleming also has ties to English cricket through a two-year stint coaching Southern Brave in the Hundred until 2024, and earlier playing spells at Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire and Middlesex.

Fleming's working relationship with his former New Zealand teammate McCullum will be pivotal.

The pair were once business partners, sharing involvement in the digital platform CricHQ and a venture exporting meat from New Zealand to India.

McCullum, who held the Test coaching role from May 2022 before taking charge of all formats at the start of 2025, was removed from the red-ball position after last month's defeat by New Zealand but continues to lead the limited-overs sides.

On the captaincy front, Joe Root is expected to lead the team against Pakistan, though the permanent appointment will ultimately rest with the incoming coach.

Harry Brook, who has developed a strong rapport with McCullum while captaining the white-ball sides, is the other contender.

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