Game plan first, glory second for
Fleming
By Mark Geenty
From the New Zealand Herald, 28 April 2003
Stephen Fleming stared a test triple century in the
face but insisted he'd have no sleepless nights over
the 26 runs he passed up for a potential New Zealand
test record here.
The New Zealand captain's epic
274 not out against Sri Lanka, the second-highest New
Zealand test innings behind Martin Crowe's 299 set 12
years ago, ended when he unselfishly declared his team's
first innings at 515 for seven shortly before stumps
on Saturday, the second day of the first test.
After nearly 11 hours of graft
in draining heat and humidity at P Saravanamuttu Stadium,
Fleming shuffled off the ground 20 minutes before stumps
when it seemed he might shoot for 300.
His call was immediately justified
when first-over specialist Daryl Tuffey did the trick
again, trapping Sri Lankan opener Marvan Atapattu leg
before wicket for nought off the fifth ball of the innings.
For an exhausted Fleming, a month
past his 30th birthday, Saturday's events were shades
of six years ago in Dunedin, his second test as captain.
Then, he pulled the pin on opener
Bryan Young, who was on 267 against Sri Lanka - until
yesterday the second-highest New Zealand test innings.
"I'd have had a bit of a chuckle
and said, 'Thanks Youngy' if I'd carried on and got
300," Fleming joked. "It was the same sort of thing,
we had a time frame as to how long we were going to
bat, I wanted six to eight overs at them and I wasn't
going to budge from that."
Asked whether he might regret the
call in coming days when it sunk in how close he had
come to Crowe's mark, there was no hesitation.
"No way. Even now I look at it,
we got one wicket and that was great. That tops off
the day really, and we've got a test match to win now."
Fleming joined just eight other
New Zealand players as test double centurions with Glenn
Turner and current team-mate Mathew Sinclair, having
achieved it twice. Martin Donnelly, Bert Sutcliffe,
Crowe, Young, Graham Dowling and team-mates Mathew Sinclair
and Nathan Astle, the latter currently recovering from
knee and hernia surgery.
The innings was hardly vintage
Fleming as tight bowling and defensive fields tied him
down, but it was a massive feat of concentration and
physical exertion.
Colombo lived up to its reputation
as the hottest, most humid venue in world cricket. The
sun beat down and the sweat poured off.
Fleming faced 476 balls, hit 28
fours and a solitary six over long off.
What made the innings a gem was
how long Fleming defied Sri Lanka's star spinner, Muttiah
Muralitharan, keeping him wicketless for his first 55
overs as the ball spun everywhere.
"That's probably what kept me focused,
I still didn't always know where it was going," Fleming
said.
He also had some average Sri Lanka
fielding to thank, with Mahela Jayawardene missing two
regulation chances when Fleming was on 121 and 140.
His biggest moment was passing
close friend Astle's 222, scored against England a year
ago.
"I was only really aware of Nathan's
[score] but every time I heard a clap I guessed I was
going past someone.
"I had a smile on my face when
I passed him [Astle] and I'm expecting a call, that's
if he can get off the couch."
For Fleming, it was more proof
he had shed the choker tag of being unable to convert
half-centuries into big scores.
It was just his fifth century in
his 74th test, and his first double century in 257 first-class
innings spread over 11 years.
"I'm certainly learning, it's been
three test centuries in 12 months and I'm really pleased
technically and mentally about where I'm at.
"So I should be too, I've played
enough cricket to be able to convert big scores."
|
