“Yeah, he is available,” Fleming said. “There are standards. We pick on runs and wickets primarily, but I think it’s foolish not to also say there are standards that need to be set. We’ve just got to be careful that the people who represent us are the people the club cricketers, the people that follow English cricket are proud to have us wearing the lions.”
Fleming was not England’s No 1 choice as Test head coach, but once Andy Flower pulled out, his long-term relationship with McCullum played in his favour. He says he is relishing the Ashes next summer, but has ambitions beyond beating Australia: to take the team back to No 1 for the first time since 2011 and win the World Test Championship, a competition England have largely ignored.
“I would love to be in charge of the No 1 Test team in the world. That would be my aspiration. I know the marquee events – the Ashes – are something I can’t wait for. 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, so I can’t wait for that,” he said.
“But 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. The style of play will come with that also. That will be more player directed, but I feel very strongly about finding a sense of belonging within the group and that will take a bit of time.”
Fleming said he was unable to take up his role before the Pakistan series because of family and business commitments put in place when he left Chennai. He declined to name his backroom team and changes to the set-up are expected in the coming weeks, before Fleming’s first tour of South Africa later this year.
Fleming, 53, has a four-year contract and is one of the most respected and experienced coaches in the game. However, he has never coached in red-ball cricket and spent the last 18 years at Chennai in the IPL. He has catching up to do.
“I really loved the positive play and the freeing up of the England players [under McCullum] which was deemed to be a bit of a hurdle. The other thing is when you do something that changes the landscape, others catch up and there’s no doubt the other teams all of a sudden put a lot of attention on how to stop England and to combat what they were doing. There are key times in a match when you have to be really smart. Maybe we can just work a bit harder on that and combine that with the positive nature of the players.”
