They went with Fleming, who doesn’t have the great man, MS Dhoni. What made Fleming a great coach? Dhoni. We cannot forget this. He’s been working with Dhoni for a long time. Suddenly, Dhoni is not as active in the IPL as he used to be. And Fleming couldn’t keep Chennai Super Kings at the same level. So, we’ll probably get to know Fleming and how good he is as a coach.

During the Bazball era, we have seen flatter pitches. Will England go back to seaming pitches?

Monty Panesar: Well, I suppose the next Test series is in August now against Pakistan. The corporate hospitality industry is massive in this country. The ECB would want the games to go into at least a fourth day. Pakistan are not at their strongest. So, they may just produce slightly flatter pitches. The ball will probably turn a lot more, I suspect, because of the heatwave we’ve had here over the last couple of months. I don’t think they’ll produce green pitches.

England’s Ben Stokes walks in dejection as they lose the series against New Zealand on day five of the Third Cricket Test at Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, Nottingham, England, Monday June 29, 2026. (Jacob King/PA via AP)

How do you expect the batting approach to be?

Monty Panesar: They’ll go back to a slightly more conservative way. They’ll play a bit more traditional style of Test match cricket. I think Fleming would want people to maybe play that style. Then he’ll look to accommodate Bazball as well. But the most important thing is just winning Test matches, to be honest.

How will England replace Ben Stokes?

Monty Panesar: Yeah, there are a few all-rounders who are doing decently. But the thing with Stokes was, he was doing well with the ball…but his batting wasn’t as destructive as it used to be. So, England may not miss his batting, but the bowling, they could.

But generally speaking, he was a captain, a great fielder, a bowler and a batsman. So, you had like four cricketers in one. It may be just a healthy distraction for England to think, well, Stokes is not there now…We can maybe go back to playing a slightly more conventional style of cricket. We can probably pick six batters, four good bowlers and a keeper.

Stokes was obviously a strong personality and a big presence. Sometimes, what he said was difficult to say ‘no’ to. But I think with Root, you could probably be a bit flexible.

England’s Ben Stokes, centre, celebrates with his team the wicket of New Zealand’s Will O’Rourke during the second day of the test match between England and New Zealand at Lord’s cricket ground in London, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

How will Bazball be remembered?

Monty Panesar: The positives that came from Bazball were that they made cricket entertaining again, very watchable. They’re playing a style of cricket that has the world following. Everyone thought, ‘Wow,’ this is amazing, this is a new style of cricket. They achieved a lot of success early on…later they failed to adapt from that.

I suppose it’s about winning. If England are not winning, then, you know, it’s a big problem. The way they play their cricket will then be assessed. So, there is that balance of playing traditional cricket and then, when they are in a strong position, then play Bazball.

So, it was about getting the balance right. Sometimes in England with overcast conditions, the ball could be swinging. Maybe, then you can sort of go out and play aggressive cricket. But on a flat pitch, you’re trying to get yourself into a strong position and losing early wickets can be…unforgivable.

Two different coaches in two different formats—how will players be managed?

Monty Panesar: I suppose it’d be interesting. Like if Fleming wants his best players for red-ball cricket, and then not making them available for white ball, would McCullum agree to that? Or do they both agree, maybe, for the important white-ball games, some of the Test match players are available for that?

But then possibly for the less important ones, they don’t play. But because McCullum looks up to Fleming, he’ll probably agree to him. Slso, with a view to winning the Ashes next year (In England), I think McCullum probably would accommodate Fleming for the Ashes, and then it would reverse for the World Cup (50-over in South Africa) in October.