Stephen Fleming said that his long-term vision as England’s Test coach is just as much about the team’s conduct and reputation as a cricket team, as it is about the success they achieve. Fleming stated that he was particular about the identity of the team, even as he has his eyes set on the summit of the ICC Test Rankings and being a part of the Ashes for the first time.

“I would love to be in charge of the number one Test team in the world. That would be my aspiration,” Fleming told reporters while addressing his first press conference as Test coach in Manchester. “The Ashes is something that I can't wait for. As a New Zealander, I have watched and loved the Ashes all my cricketing life, so to be part of that is an absolute highlight. I can’t help but get excited for that.

“But there's a piece of work there that's already begun and that's around our identity. There's been a lot of coverage around that and I think the way that players represent England and the group is going to be really important to me. The style of play will come with that also and that'll be a little bit more player-directed, but I feel very strongly about finding a sense of belonging within the group.”

Fleming said that while it’s a process that would take time, he has already had conversations with captain Joe Root on the team’s identity.

“We've done some things to start that piece of work, so that's really important to me. I don't want to go into too much detail of it, but it's something that we will work on. So not only will we be in the best position to win cricket games, but also represent the England cricket team in its best form,” Fleming said.

Fleming’s comments come on the back of a turbulent 11-month period for English cricket that raised questions over a potential drinking problem within the team. The latest incident saw Brydon Carse handcuffed outside a nightclub following Durham’s County Championship win over Derbyshire, shortly after Root removed the team’s midnight curfew that had been put into place earlier.

Having begun the year still honouring his long-standing job at Chennai Super Kings and its sister franchises, Fleming acknowledged the manner in which he has had to view a chaotic summer differently as the ECB came calling.

“It's interesting when you go to watch almost as a bystander for the first half of the year and then obviously things change quite quickly to a real narrow focus on where the team was at,” Fleming said. “The opportunity that lay ahead, was I the right person to take this team forward and then deemed by the ECB to be the right person - that process was very thorough. In the background, yeah, I was constantly watching the good and the bad and analysing that in a much different way than what I would have done [in] early April.

Fleming condemned the disciplinary issues that have plagued English cricket, even as the Test team is fresh off a comprehensive 3-0 series win over Pakistan.

“I think you acknowledge it's disappointing. The way it was summed up for me when I watched Joe in the press conference and when Joe Root voices his displeasure at the behaviour, I think that said it all. So there's work to be done and it comes back to that identity piece and just making sure we're tying into something a bit bigger than oneself, which can hopefully help on that front,” Fleming said.

While he refused to comment on Carse’s situation with the Cricket Regulator’s verdict still pending, Fleming pointed towards Root as the example for the rest of the team to follow.

“It's disappointing that it's [the Carse incident] happened and that goes back to Joe's comments around the standards that he said. And if you want a great example of how to behave as an international cricketer, Joe Root is it. So we've got someone right there who exhibits to me the behaviours that we're looking for,” he said.

Fleming also called for a change in England’s attitude towards the over-rate on the back of multiple sanctions that have stalled their progress in the World Test Championship since its inception in 2019. He said that he was aspirational about the WTC, calling it one of the “pinnacle trophies” in the sport.

“I think England could do much better in that [the WTC]. And even [the] attitude just around the over-rate, I think comes down to identity and style of play. And if that's one of the pinnacle trophies in world cricket, 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…I come from New Zealand, so we have to underplay it, not overstate it. 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.”