Stephen Fleming walked into his first media briefing as England’s new Test coach with a line that will play well in these parts.
“I have an obsession with it as well,” he said of the Ashes. “We want to beat the Aussies.”
No hedging. No soft launch. England’s new grown‑up in the room has nailed his colours to the oldest mast in the game.
‘Little cousin’ with a big score to settle
Fleming knows what it is to live in Australia’s shadow. He captained New Zealand through 14 Tests against them and never once walked away a winner. That scar tissue still shows.
“New Zealand has an obsession with it, we love it,” he said. “We have a deep desire to beat Australia in everything, as the little cousin.”
Now that “little cousin” is running England’s Test side, with an Ashes summer looming in the UK next year and a 4-1 hammering in Australia still raw. England have not won a series against Australia since 2015. The job description for the new coach might as well have been four words long: beat them next time.
“You don’t think you’re ever going to get that opportunity,” Fleming admitted. “To have that opportunity and be part of it, I can’t wait.”
He spoke about wanting to be his “best self” and building a team that “represents itself in the best possible way”. There is a vision, he said. Aspirational. “It will be brilliant.”
The language was calm, but the intent was unmistakable.
From Bazball to the bookmaker’s favourite
Fleming replaces his long‑time friend and business partner Brendon McCullum, who was sacked as Test coach earlier in the summer but kept in charge of the white-ball sides. McCullum’s final 10 Tests brought only two wins and culminated in that brutal tour of Australia.
The criticism was familiar: too little adaptability, too much bravado, not enough attention to detail. When the conditions changed, England often didn’t.
Fleming, asked to explain the difference between him and McCullum, reached for the betting slip.
“I’ll bet on the favourite and he’ll bet on the longest odds possible.”
It was a neat line, but it cut to the heart of England’s recent Test cricket. Under McCullum and Ben Stokes, they often chased the long shot, the spectacular, the statement win. Sometimes it was exhilarating. Sometimes it was reckless.
Fleming sounds like a man more inclined to play the percentages.
On the question of “brand” cricket, he was blunt. “I don’t think so,” he said. “The greatest thing for a team to do is to be able to play conditions and situations.”
He wants England to be known for being “well-planned”, with “discipline and a really strong basic structure”, but still with “a bit of flair”. The fireworks aren’t banned. They just have to be wired properly.
The talk of “Flemball” has already started. He batted it away as a “medical condition” and nothing more. Labels don’t interest him. Winning does.
Standards after the chaos
The final months of McCullum’s reign, and the early weeks after his departure, were stalked by off-field trouble. Late-night drinking stories kept bleeding into the cricket pages.
On Friday, Derbyshire Police confirmed they had closed an investigation into England fast bowler Brydon Carse after allegations of an assault last month. No police action will follow, but Carse now faces an investigation from the Cricket Regulator. He has not featured in any England squad since the incident, though technically remains available.
Fleming did not dodge the subject.
“There are standards,” he said. “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.
“You need to behave in accordance with your position. We’re in a very privileged position, and it’s understanding that privilege and what goes along with it. It can’t be convenient.”
The key line was this: “You’ve got to live it every day.”
For some players, that will sound like a new non‑negotiable. For Carse, it may mean a longer road back than he had imagined.
Calm voice, sharper edge
Almost two months on from his appointment, this was the first real glimpse of what a Stephen Fleming England might look like.
He cut a composed figure: calm, measured, authoritative. The kind of presence a dressing room leans towards when the noise outside gets too loud.
There were flashes of humour. He joked he had a “stress fracture of the left ear” from the sheer volume of calls with people connected to the England set-up. He laughed about occasionally turning up in fancy dress at Chennai Super Kings to loosen the mood.
But underneath the dry delivery, there was steel. The “big brother” tag used by some around the split-coaching set‑up felt apt. McCullum brought the freewheeling energy. Fleming looks more like the one who checks the doors are locked.
That dynamic matters. Split roles have not always worked for England. This time, the two men at the top are close friends and business partners, aligned but very different. One reaches for the long odds. The other, by his own admission, prefers the favourite.
No Stokes U-turn, no shortcuts
Fleming has already toured the counties, including a trip to Durham to meet Ben Stokes during their draw with Worcestershire. Stokes, who abruptly retired from international cricket in July, knows Fleming well from their time together at Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.
If anyone had the relationship to tempt Stokes back, it was probably him. He will not try.
“He was in a great space, really happy, enjoying his time with Durham,” Fleming said. “He’s got a good winter planned with the family and is very much at peace with his decision.”
“When a player makes that decision to retire, I respect that decision 100%. To try to turn that around and question that is wrong.”
No hard sell. No romantic last‑minute dash to the airport. Just a clear line: respect the decision, build with those who are in.
There was another quiet promise: the World Test Championship will matter to this England. Fleming made it clear he will give the competition a level of respect it has not always received from previous regimes. Points, tables, finals – they will count.
He also explained his absence from the Pakistan series, citing family and commercial commitments. No drama, just context.
South Africa first, Australia always
Fleming spent Saturday at Old Trafford watching England dispatch Sri Lanka in the third T20. The Test job starts in earnest with the tour of South Africa in December, a hard, uncompromising assignment that will quickly reveal whether his talk of discipline and adaptability has sunk in.
On this evidence, his England will be less chaotic, less impulsive, and probably less theatrical than the side McCullum and Stokes built. It may be less fun at times.
If it wins more, no one will complain.
The Ashes obsession will not fade. It will sit there, humming in the background, through every selection meeting and every training block. The “little cousin” who never beat Australia as a player now holds the whiteboard and the final say.
South Africa comes first.
Australia, though, is already on the wall.
