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England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is all set to make its first appointment in Stephen Fleming's coaching set-up. ECB named Fleming as the Test team coach, replacing Brendon McCullum. As soon as ECB announced the former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach as England National Cricket Team's head coach, it was inevitable that a few more announcements were yet to come.
On October 12, BBC, in its report, claimed that the national cricket board has confirmed it will bring Eric Simmons on board as a helping hand to Stephen Fleming.
England secures Eric Simon's as Test bowling coach
Eric Simmons has vast experience working with the former New Zealand captain. Simons was CSK's bowling coach under the supervision of Stephen Fleming.
As CSK appointed former India fast bowler Mohit Sharma as their new bowling coach, after confirming Zaheer Khan as the head coach ahead of the IPL 2027 season, Simons became free to take his next job. ECB grabbed the opportunity instantly and appointed him as the bowling coach of England's Test team. The official announcement is yet to come.
According to the BBC report, Simons' new role will be confirmed on Monday, when the board officials will declare the names of the players with fresh central contracts.
Eric Simons served as CSK's long-time bowling coach and consultant under head coach Stephen Fleming. Simons served the IPL franchise for around seven years before joining the England cricket team.
Marcus Trescothick's role in Tests remains uncertain
ECB announced Fleming as the nation's Test team head coach on July 30 this year. But he will join the team ahead of the Test series against South Africa. The series between England and South Africa will be crucial for both teams as the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle is yet to reach its final stage.
Simons is expected to join the national side ahead of the series against South Africa when Fleming finalizes his squad. Fleming and Co. will be seen on the sidelines with the Three Lions in December, 2026. In his absence, former England top-order batter Marcus Trescothick acted as interim coach during the Test series against Pakistan in a home series.
The Joe Root-led team whitewashed Pakistan with Trescothick as the interim coach. Despite the brilliant displays across all departments against the Babar Azam-led Pakistan, Marcus Trescothick's place in the team is not confirmed yet.
Eric Simons represented South Africa in ODIs
By securing Eric Simmons as the bowling coach for the longest format of the game, ECB makes it clear that they have made up their minds to apply the split-captaincy theory to fetch fruitful results from both red-ball and white-ball formats.
Eric Simons, 64, was an all-rounder for the South Africa National Cricket Team, but got recognisation most because of his medium-pace bowling skills. From February 1994 to February 1995, he played 23 ODIs for the Proteas. In 23 matches, he scored 217 runs with the bat and took 33 wickets, including a best figure of 4/42 against Pakistan in Cape Town.
