Almost two months after being appointed Test coach, Stephen Fleming outlined what the England team may look like under his stewardship.
He was calm, measured and authoritative, perhaps showing he is exactly the sort of leader England need after a chaotic period on and off the pitch.
There were also signs of Fleming’s character and sense of humour. He joked he has a “stress fracture of the left ear” after all the phone calls he has had with those connected with the England team, then laughed about occasionally turning up in fancy dress to relax the environment of his Chennai Super Kings team.
Most revealing was the description of his relationship with Brendon McCullum – “I’ll bet on the favourite and he’ll bet on the longest odds possible”. There were plenty of times during McCullum’s reign as Test coach where those long-odds bets were placed, while Fleming seems much more likely to play the percentages.
The two are great friends, which should help with a split-coaching dynamic that has not always served England well in the past. “Big brother” was one way the Fleming-McCullum dynamic was referred to, and there was a sense that England now have a grown-up in charge, following the freewheeling of McCullum.
Fleming covered a range of topics: he won’t try to persuade Ben Stokes to come out of retirement, he will give the World Test Championship a level of respect lacking from previous England teams, he explained he missed the Pakistan series because of family and commercial commitments.
Fleming also addressed discipline and the late-night controversies that have dogged England in the past 12 months. Talk of “standards” may not be good news for Brydon Carse’s prospects of a swift return to the set-up.
And, of course, there was the question of “Flemball”, dismissed as a “medical condition”.
On this evidence, Fleming’s England will be more assured, mature and level than the team led by McCullum. Possibly less fun, too.
The most important thing is they win more, starting in South Africa in December.
