Former Australian batter Michael Hussey has come out in strong support of Stephen Fleming’s appointment as England’s new red-ball head coach, adding that the New Zealander is a balanced person and was excellent to work with.
Notably, Hussey worked with Fleming in the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) set-up over the years. The former Aussie batter went on to assert that Fleming has ‘fire and ice’ in his personality. For the unversed, Fleming will be taking over from Brendon McCullum as a red-ball head coach for England.
“One thing I really admired about Flem is that I played under him and he just seemed so cool, calm and collected. Nothing at all seemed to faze him. He just seemed so totally in control all the time … but then I joined the coaching staff at CSK, and I saw a completely different side to him – how passionate he is, how angry he gets when things don’t go right and how he rides the wave a lot more,” Hussey told The Guardian.
“He has this ability to remain calm in front of the players so as not to put any added pressure on them, but around us coaches he lets out more of his feelings and his frustrations. He has fire and ice. He really is excellent to work with,” Hussey added.
“He was always trying to stay ahead of the game and figure out the next trends, but he’s also got a lot of respect for the basics of the game and players that had craft and skill. He’s a balanced person; he respects the traditions of the game but is also trying to push the boundaries. That’s why I think he’s a nice fit for the England role,” he stated.
It’s important to note that England’s red-ball role will be Fleming’s first-ever task as a Test coach. However, Hussey has reckoned that a lot of the skills from white-ball to red-ball coaching were transferable.
“I think a lot of his coaching traits and techniques are transferable from white ball to red ball. It’s all about relationships and understanding the different personalities and trying to get the best out of them. Also, he played over 100 Test matches himself, so he understands the fundamentals of the game,” he stated.
“Even in those early days at CSK, his man-management skills were really strong. He had a nice balance between being very organised and strategic, but not forgetting the fun element of why we play the game and keeping things relaxed. I think he’s always got that balance right,” he concluded.
