Fleming relishing chance to get back
into Test cricket
By Lymm MConnell
From CricInfo, 9 April 2003
Overcoming
the disappointment of their early exit from the World
Cup and switching back into Test mode will be the key
to New Zealand's hopes of holding their Test ranking
of No 3 in the world in their forthcoming Test series
with Sri Lanka.
The
side leaves for the Test leg of the series next week,
and will be going without stalwarts Nathan Astle, Craig
McMillan and Chris Cairns. Astle is having surgery on
a long-standing knee problem, McMillan has been dropped
for this tour and Cairns is available only for the One-Day
International tri-series after the Test matches.
That
third ranking is important to the Kiwis, it is not a
position that has often been their property in the past,
even in the unofficial rankings before the implementation
of the ICC Test Championship.
"Everyone
else refers to it so we have to and we want to hold
onto the third position which I think we have deserved
over the last two years," New Zealand captain Stephen
Fleming says.
With
all the emphasis on one-day cricket this summer in preparation
for the World Cup, New Zealand has been starved of Test
action, playing only two Tests over the summer.
That
has made life tough for Test match specialists like
opener Mark Richardson who only really picked up his
best batting form in the latter stages of the domestic
season, this despite playing some key innings in the
Test series victory over India.
Fleming
said there would be no problem getting prepared for
the Sri Lankan series after the disappointments of the
World Cup.
Just
like falling off a horse really, the best medicine is
to get straight back on.
"There
was a disappointing feeling after the Cup but the best
medicine is to get back into it straight away. The challenge
of the Tests is what I am looking forward to in Sri
Lanka," he said.
Fleming
enjoys touring Sri Lanka and recalls the success he
had during the last Test tour when hitting his highest
Test score of 174 not out.
"Winning
the first Test is crucial in a two-Test series and we
will have to go hard for that.
"We
will have to soak up the pressure in their conditions
and they will be very tough Tests," he said.
The
Test series is an important one for many reasons. New
Zealand has a winter off this year, but once the summer
of 2003/04 starts it is all on in a big way.
It has
a tour to India and then the two home series against
Pakistan and South Africa before a tour to England.
Somewhere along the way the missing Test against Pakistan
from that disrupted by the bomb which forced New Zealand
home from Karachi last may has to be fitted into the
calendar as well.
Depth
is lacking in some areas, especially the opening role
and also in spinning. The spinning lack is probably
the longest-standing problem in the New Zealand game.
From the days through the 1970s and 1980s, when every
New Zealand province had at least one quality spinner,
the situation has deteriorated badly.
Various
methods have already been tried to improve the situation
and another is to be tried on this tour with two promising
young spinners, left-armer Bruce Martin and off-spinner
Jeetan Patel being taken along for the ride to get some
exposure to the international scene, and no doubt to
do a lot of bowling in the nets.
Their
involvement is seen as part of a longer-term initiative,
the finer points of which are still to be worked out.
Off-spinner
Paul Wiseman has been included for the tour despite
some unconvincing performances in the New Zealand domestic
season.
But
Fleming says Wiseman has experience of Sri Lankan conditions
and he expects him to relish the opportunity the tour
provides to shore up the spin-bowling options in the
New Zealand side. He does come off some lengthy match
bowling having sent down 63.2 overs in Canterbury's
last State Championship match against Central Districts
this year. His reward was one wicket for 165 runs.
Adding
to the concern in the spin department is the relative
lack of use of key spinner, left-armer Daniel Vettori.
He had
been hamstrung by the pitches that have been provided
in New Zealand over the last summer, and on the portable
pitches in the first and third Tests against England
last summer.
While
Fleming looked to attack with him as often as possible,
it was a fact that the wickets the side had been playing
on had not allowed the opportunities.
"You
have to keep looking at the wickets, and the figures
of the domestic cricketers are just the same."
The
return of Matt Horne should strengthen the batting options
at the top of the order while Fleming's Wellington team-mate
Richard Jones should bring a strength of attitude when
he gets the chance.
Going
on tour without the support in talent and experience
that Astle, McMillan and Cairns offered him did make
for tougher going for Fleming but he said their absence
provided chances for Horne, Mathew Sinclair and Jones.
The
extra responsibility that will go on Fleming would be
significant and his recent run of form could be just
what he needs to set the pace from the front. He has
been happy with his form of late, and there has been
a sense of reward for the work he has put in. But there
is still more he wants to do, and that has to be encouraging.
The
tri-series with Sri Lanka and Pakistan will offer more
opportunities for New Zealand to address their shortcomings
in the one-day game.
Fleming
commented that it is the lack of opportunity for the
one-day side to play together, with all its key performance
elements, as often as possible that has been one of
reasons for the side not achieving a level of consistent
success since he has been captain.
There
was also a need for a greater understanding of the game
and learning to apply the lessons of defeat at the right
time when opportunities arose.
Chopping
and changing of players, especially in the twin areas
of concern, opening the batting and the bowling at the
death, had not helped this development.
On this
occasion Chris Nevin, a controversial omission from
the World Cup team as an opening batsman, had the chance
to stake a more permanent claim in the side while Horne
was another who had plenty to offer.
The
problem with settling the issue of bowling at the death
was that it was really a skill that was acquired as
the result of experience at bowling in tight situations.
Shane
Bond still represented a chance in that role, although
he had been used in the World Cup to try and polish
off sides earlier. But Daryl Tuffey, Andre Adams and
Ian Butler were others who could have a role to play.
There
are still plenty of questions to be asked, and answered,
for the New Zealanders but Sri Lanka represents a significant
opportunity for some players, and the success of the
tour may depend on how well they take them.
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