When Stephen Fleming’s departure from the Chennai Super Kings setup became public recently, it was only natural for cricket fans to presume that the quiet New Zealander would step on to a bigger stage to display his coaching abilities. That stage was revealed earlier this week when Fleming ended up getting fellow New Zealander Brendon McCullum’s job as chief coach of England’s Test team.

Sporting results don’t always reflect sincere efforts. The most well-worked-out plans can produce unexpected negative results. But there won’t be any lack of effort from Fleming. He may not be an in-the-face coach, but Chennai Super Kings’ five Indian Premier League titles mean that he has excelled in strategy and man-management. An Ashes win in Australia will form a big part of Fleming’s to-do list and that will be his biggest challenge.