Fleming sets sights on World Test Championship with England

New England head coach Stephen Fleming has made the World Test Championship a central part of his ambition, insisting England should be targeting the pinnacle of the longest format and aiming to become the No.1 Test side in the world.

With England's white-ball campaign against Sri Lanka drawing to a close, Fleming has already turned his attention towards the broader challenge of Test cricket and the opportunity to reshape England's fortunes in the format he holds particularly close to his heart.

"It's high [on the agenda], it's aspirational," Fleming said of the competition. "England could do much better than that. And even attitude just around the over rate, I think, comes down to identity and style of play.”

"If that's one of the pinnacle trophies in world cricket [World Test Championship], why would we not be trying to get it along with every other marquee event that comes our way?

"Now, I don't say that lightly, there's a lot of hard work to do and players must be balanced around that… But it's aspirational and that's why I'm here. That opportunity is real, but there's a huge amount of work to do."

With a contract until 2030, Fleming spoke of his aspirations to make England the No. 1 ranked Test team in the world, an honour currently held by their old rivals, Australia.

"I would love to be in charge of the No.1 Test team in the world," Fleming added. "That would be my aspiration."

That ambition comes from a coach whose own cricketing philosophy was shaped by the demands of red-ball cricket.

After years of success in franchise cricket, most notably with IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings, Fleming is now relishing the prospect of spending more time working with an international group and developing relationships within the England dressing room, 

"It's one of the most prestigious jobs in cricket. I was very honoured to be asked," he said on taking on the role.

"I'm really looking forward to almost coming back to red-ball cricket and having a little bit more time and, probably more importantly, creating relationships that are a bit more than skin deep."

"And I say that with the greatest respect to the relationships that I've had over my years in franchise cricket, when you just don't have the time. Now to have time to work with a group of players over months and years, really excites me."

Stephen Fleming was the head coach of Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League // Getty Images

Fleming’s first outing as the Head Coach of the Test side is an away trip to South Africa for a three-match Test series starting 17 December.