Fleming Throws England's Doors Open to County Coaches and Former Players

England head coach Stephen Fleming has vowed to make county cricket an integral part of the national team's development, revealing he wants to fold domestic coaches and former players into the England set-up as he builds on the existing coaching structure.

Fleming, who will take charge of his first series in South Africa later this year, also stated that the national team should be coached by an Englishman or woman in the future — a striking assertion given that, since 1999, only two Englishmen, Peter Moores and Chris Silverwood, have led the Test side, while Ashley Giles had a spell as white-ball coach.

A staff built on former England players

Fleming's coaching group, unveiled last week, is already stacked with former England internationals. Marcus Trescothick, who served as interim Test coach earlier this year against Pakistan, will work alongside former wicketkeeper James Foster and ex-spinner Richard Dawson, while Jonathan Trott — part of England's Ashes-winning side — is set to take charge of England Lions.

"I'm grateful for the opportunity, but there will be some development in terms of the coaching, and you can see by our staff," Fleming told BBC Radio 5 Live.

The new head coach said the approach would reach well beyond his immediate group, with county coaches and former England players invited to contribute at different stages.

"There are some really key people who have come back into the system and I'm really pleased about that," he said. "I look forward to working with them, but it is a real focus and it's an ambition as well that you will also get county coaches who will be introduced at certain times and you will get past players that will be asked to come back as well.

"It's really inclusive and a comfortable nature of using what's around, but also driving what should be driven within the county game and the English game."

Contrast with the McCullum era

Fleming's emphasis on the county system lands after criticism of Brendon McCullum's tenure as England's Test coach, when questions were raised over his engagement with the domestic game — particularly when he took an extended time off before joining the Test team at the start of this summer.

In contrast, Fleming visited several counties in September and said he would continue to follow the competition closely, including spending time watching county cricket next summer ahead of England's home Ashes series.

"Yep, I'll be around and I really enjoyed this year getting to catch up," said Fleming. "A lot of the guys I played with are now in positions either coaching or the head positions at counties. It was good to catch up with those guys and get a feel for where the county game is at. I really enjoyed it and it will be a key part to continuing developing players."

The spinner puzzle Fleming must solve

Among Fleming's immediate responsibilities is drawing up a roadmap for the spinner's role in the Test side. England did not include a specialist spinner in any of their three Tests against Pakistan, opting instead for an attack featuring four frontline seamers.

The selection debate has been sharpened by Australia's decision to leave Nathan Lyon out of the ongoing Test against South Africa in Gqeberha, despite the off-spinner having taken 573 Test wickets.

Shoaib Bashir was named the only specialist red-ball spinner among England's fully centrally contracted players last week, while Mason Crane and Liam Patterson-White received development deals.

Asked whether Bashir's central contract established him as England's first-choice spinner, Fleming described the Derbyshire bowler as representing "continuity", while stressing that the selection process remained open.

"I acknowledge there's a raft of spinners just below that, that at times are putting their hand up," said Fleming. "There is a raft of spinners there and are probably looking for an opportunity, and finding those conditions, it could be Bangladesh, where there could be two or three that will come along.

"The team could look quite different and that's the horses for courses example. But Bashir has got some experience and is still very young. There's an aspect of still looking and developing, and trying to find that right combination in the spin department."