LONDON: Joe Root was reappointed as England Test captain on Thursday, with former New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming as head coach as the team enters a new era.
The announcement from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) follows the resignation of Brendon McCullum as Test coach and the shock retirement of former skipper Ben Stokes from international cricket earlier this month.
McCullum, who is still in charge of England’s white-ball teams, lost his job after a 2-1 home series defeat to New Zealand in June, which followed a disastrous Ashes season in Australia.
Root will resume his role as captain in the three-match series with Pakistan from next month, but Fleming is not scheduled to arrive until later this year.
Yorkshireman Root holds the record for captaining England in the most tests (65) and most wins (27).
He managed the team from 2017 to 2022 and filled the role on an interim basis at the Oval during the recent series against New Zealand.
The 35-year-old is second behind India’s Sachin Tendulkar on the all-time Test scoring list, with over 14,000 runs.
“It is a great honor and privilege to be asked to be the England men’s Test captain again,” said Root.
“Test captaincy is a difficult but hugely rewarding job and after enjoying it again last month working with Baz McCullum, I am excited to lead this next generation of players forward.”
‘Exceptional leader’
Root described Fleming, 53, as an “exceptional leader with a great knowledge of the game”.
Marcus Trescothick will be interim head coach for the Pakistan Series, which start at Headingley on August 19, ahead of Fleming’s arrival later this year.
Fleming, who retired as a player in 2009, played 111 Test matches for New Zealand.
“The ambition is always to win now,” Fleming said. “But it is equally important that the team is well positioned for the medium and long term.”
He added: “I am especially looking forward to working with Joe Root as captain – a generational talent who has already achieved so much.
There is much more to come from him and I am happy to support him so he can enjoy and thrive in the role in a different context than his first stint.”
Managing director of England men’s cricket Rob Key called Fleming one of the most respected figures in cricket.
“I believe he is the best person to guide a team full of potential and turn that talent into a world-class team that can not only achieve success, but sustain it,” said Key.
Key said Root was “passionate about leading this team into a new era”.
The two appointments draw a line under the ultra-attacking ‘Bazball’ era of McCullum and Stokes, which started in 2022.
The two men injected new energy into a floundering Test team that had won just one match in 17 under Root.
England won 10 of the first 11 Tests under the pair but gradually lost momentum and crucially failed to win a series against Australia or India.
Stokes made his dramatic retirement announcement during the third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge.
He had been dropped for the second Test after breaching a team curfew at a London nightclub, the latest in a series of off-field incidents involving England players.
McCullum denied rumors of a rift with his skipper following earlier reports of tensions between the two men during the 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia.
