England will have a new captain and a new stand-in head coach when they host Pakistan in a three-match Test series, starting August 19. Joe Root has made his return as England’s Test captain and he will lead the team in the series. Marcus Trescothick will perform the head coach’s duties. Stephen Fleming, England’s newly appointed Test head coach, will take over the charge in December. AB de Villiers has reacted to Fleming’s appointment and heaped praise on the veteran coach. Speaking on his YouTube channel, de Villiers called Fleming an accomplished coach and a great cricket brain.

“Now comes Joe Root, Steven Fleming, completely different combination and I think for them it will be really important to find a way to get that message across to the players as soon as possible of what kind of style and brand they want to play. Joe Root captained before, obviously, for four to five years and I think in about 64 Test matches. He had a relatively good run but seemed to sort of step away, not feeling like he is the right guy to take it forward. He finds himself in that position again,” de Villiers said.

“Fleming, a very accomplished coach, great cricket brain and I think he will take a lot of pressure and the thinking work away from Root and the players,” he added.

Fleming has mainly coached in IPL. After representing Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2008, he took over as their head coach before IPL 2009. He joined MS Dhoni at Rising Pune Supergiant for IPL 2016 and 2017.

Fleming returned to CSK in 2018 and coached them till 2026. Fleming-coached CSK won five IPL trophies and played 10 IPL finals. They won their previous IPL trophy in 2023, which was Dhoni’s last season as their full-time captain.

Joe Root replaced Ben Stokes as England’s Test captain. Stokes announced a shock retirement from international cricket during the third Test against New Zealand. He was dropped for the second Test against NZ in the aftermath of the nightclub incident. Stokes returned for the third Test along with Gus Atkinson.

McCullum stepped down as England’s Test head coach after the series defeat against New Zealand. He will continue to coach England’s white-ball teams.

Disclaimer: This article summarizes a report by AB de Villiers. While Times Now has verified the public data presented, the interpretations of ‘intent’ remain those of the creator.