Mike Hussey linked with Stephen Fleming’s England Test coaching set-up

Former Australia star Mike Hussey could be part of England's new Test coaching setup, according to reports Down Under.

Australian broadcaster SEN has reported that Hussey, known as 'Mr Cricket' during his prolific playing career, has received an 'informal' approach by incoming Test coach Stephen Fleming.

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The pair have a long working relationship in the Indian Premier League, originally team-mates at Chennai Super Kings before Hussey joined Fleming's backroom team as a batting specialist.

Marcus Trescothick currently performs that role with England and will take charge of the forthcoming series against Pakistan on an interim basis ahead of Fleming's arrival. Whether there would be room for both in the red-ball regime is unclear, though it is possible that Trescothick could join Brendon McCullum's limited-overs setup with the England and Wales Cricket Board likely to increase their pool as they shift to a split coaching model.

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The Press Association has contacted the ECB and Welsh Fire for comment.

Hussey, 51, is currently in charge of the Welsh Fire men's team in the Hundred and his marquee player in Cardiff is Joe Root, who is returning as Test captain under Fleming. Hussey has previously crossed the Ashes divide, serving as a consultant coach during England's successful T20 World Cup campaign in 2022.

With that tournament he was hired to offer local expertise, with Jos Buttler's side ultimately claiming the trophy at the MCG.

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Speaking at the time, Hussey said: "The first time I pulled on the England shirt it was a little bit strange but after that you get to work with the players, enjoy developing those individual relationships, and forget about what you're wearing."

England have relied on overseas appointments in recent times, with Fleming, McCullum, assistant coach Jeetan Patel and seam consultant Tim Southee all New Zealanders, while Australians David Saker and Troy Cooley have also been involved in guiding the pace attack.

Fleming has worked closely with South African fast bowling coach Eric Simons at CSK and he has also been linked with a post in the England dressing room.

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Speaking last week at Lord's, England managing director of men's cricket Rob Key suggested that he hoped to offer coaching opportunities to homegrown talent but was resolved to attracting the best available candidates.

"We have a duty to bring coaches through, to upskill, to give them experiences," Key said.

"We've tried to make a lot of moves in how we educate our coaches, how we get the best people qualified, educated to do it. Now, it's not happened quick enough, but that's been a massive part of what we're going to try and do going forward.

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"Now there's a chance where we've got to give those experiences to some of those guys. It's a thing that English team sport has not had, people at the top of the game being English. And that's a problem we're all trying to solve. It's just not a quick fix."

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