LONDON, July 30, (v7n) – Joe Root was reappointed as England's Test captain on Thursday, with former New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming named as head coach as the team embark on a new era.

The announcement from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) follows the sacking of Brendon McCullum as Test coach and the shock retirement of former skipper Ben Stokes from international cricket earlier this month. McCullum, who remains in charge of England's white-ball teams, lost his job after a 2-1 home series loss to New Zealand in June, which followed a disastrous Ashes campaign in Australia.

Root will resume his role as skipper in the three-match series with Pakistan starting next month, but Fleming is not scheduled to arrive until later in the year. The Yorkshireman holds the record for captaining England in the most Tests (65) and to the most wins (27). He skippered the team from 2017 to 2022 and took the role on an interim basis at The Oval during the recent series against New Zealand.

"It is a great honour and privilege to be asked to be England men's Test captain again," said Root, who is second behind India's Sachin Tendulkar on the all-time Test scoring list with more than 14,000 runs. "The Test captaincy is a difficult but hugely rewarding job and, after enjoying a brief taste of it again working with Baz McCullum last month, I am excited to lead this next generation of players forward."

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, starting at Headingley on August 19, ahead of Fleming's arrival later this year. The ECB said Fleming, who led Chennai Super Kings to five IPL titles, was one of the "most highly regarded coaches in world cricket."

"The ambition is always to win now," said Fleming, who made 111 Test appearances for New Zealand. "But equally, it's about ensuring the team is well placed for the medium and long-term future. I'm particularly looking forward to working with Joe Root as captain—a generational talent who has achieved so much already."

Managing director of England men's cricket Rob Key hailed Fleming as one of the most highly respected figures in cricket and said Root was "passionate about leading this team into a new era." The appointments draw a line under the ultra-attacking 'Bazball' era of McCullum and Stokes, which started in 2022. England won 10 out of their first 11 Tests under the pair but gradually lost momentum, crucially failing to win a series against Australia or India. Stokes made his dramatic retirement announcement during the third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge after being dropped for the second Test for breaking a team curfew. McCullum denied rumours of a rift with his skipper after previous reports of tensions during the Ashes defeat.

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