Fleming went bush after disappointing
finish
By Duncan Johnstone
From Stuff, 6 April 2003
Stephen Fleming was so disappointed with the limp ending
to the Black Caps World Cup campaign he went bush –
literally.
While his team-mates returned to New Zealand, the skipper
took time out for a much needed breather. Used to just
the airports, hotels and cricket grounds of South Africa,
he took up the opportunity to holiday there with his
partner Kelly Payne. First up was a few days on a game
farm searching for the elusive "big five" – the
elephant, lion, rhino, giraffe and zebra.
It's just lucky there's no wallabies in Africa or Fleming
may have been tempted to put down his binoculars and
pick up a rifle from the Land-Rover's gun rack and fire
off a few rounds in frustration.
The call of the wild may have refreshed him but didn't
exorcise the nightmares of letting Australia off the
hook in a match that would have guaranteed his team
a place in the semifinals.
But the capitulation to the champion Aussies and a
similar effort next up against India saw the side packing
its bags after the Super Six.
No one could come up with an answer to why the campaign
– or more precisely, the batting – collapsed
so badly. Fleming has had plenty of time to consider
things and has a theory he'll hand over to the World
Cup review which is under way.
He'll also take lessons from it into the tour of Sri
Lanka where New Zealand heads on April 16 for two tests
and a one-day series that also involves Pakistan.
"I was so disappointed with the World Cup I went bush
for a week. With what's coming up it was a chance to
rejuvenate the taste buds, so to speak," said Fleming,
opening up for the first time on a campaign he believed
for so long could have ended in glory rather than ignominy.
"The defining moment for me was having Australia 84-7
and not being able to knock them over. I think that
actually flowed through to the next game (against India).
I think everyone felt flat and we showed immediate signs,
especially the batting display after having Australia
so close to capitulation.
"It was then very tough to build again for the Indian
game when clearly the thought of that Australian opportunity
still lingered.
"Once again it might have been a different story if
we had India at 4-20. But the bottom line was we just
weren't skilled enough to be world champions.
"I still think we had the right talent but for consistent
skill we are still a little bit short. We are going
in the right direction but we got exposed. We played
well under pressure for five games in a row but lost
it in games six and seven."
Not even some inspired leadership from Fleming with
his bat and captaincy – as he had done in similar
circumstances upsetting South Africa in group play –could
lift his side.
The batting collapses bemused him at the time, especially
given the top order appeared to slowly be getting over
their troubles at home.
"Conditions were very good for batting, especially
after the summer we had here. The guys were enjoying
that - we had three good hundreds and the top order
had given themselves a good platform.
"So to fall by the wayside like we did was disappointing.
But once again I go back to the contributing factor
of being flat after being on such a high at having Australia
7-80. Shane Bond was outstanding and we just needed
to follow on from there but it didn't happen."
Fleming wants that flat feeling to evaporate before
his team gets on the plane to Sri Lanka. He sees the
island nation as a big challenge.
"I think Sri Lanka is one of the toughest tours, considering
how well they play in their own conditions and with
how much of a challenge it has been to us in the past.
They are one side that holds us up and we even saw that
in the World Cup just recently.
"There's also responding to how we finished in the
World Cup. We have to pick ourselves up ... there is
plenty to prove."
Fleming turned 30 while in South Africa and there is
a maturity about his game now to match his age. How
ironic that birthday – on Aprils Fool's Day –
should come in a country where his career almost went
up in smoke in ...
Sporting campaigns in major codes tend to come around
in four year cycles built around World Cups. So Fleming
enters a new phase. His side may still be short in a
few areas but the Blacks Caps find their skipper at
the peak of his powers.
His leadership has been praised by the best commentators
in the game, most of them publicly wondering what Fleming
might have been able to achieve with just one more strike
bowler to back up Bond or a batsmen or two to join Nathan
Astle.
Not that Fleming has been shirking his batting responsibilities.
Tall and elegant, Fleming's batting has always been
pleasant on the eye but not always the scoreboard. Now
his blade is starting produce consistent runs.
When he collected the Walter Hadlee Trophy for one-day
international batting at New Zealand Cricket's awards
dinner last Thursday night, it was moment of pleasure
for Fleming.
The award was based largely on his World Cup effort
where he scored .... runs at an average of ... and a
remarkable strike rate of .... considering he was opening
the batting.
But for Fleming it was justification for so much hard
work that had gone in over the previous 12 months. A
year ago, examining a career that boasted so many 50s
and so few centuries, Fleming decided it was time to
make some alterations. Rather like a golf pro remodelling
his swing, Fleming went for an overhaul. Some subtle
angles were changed to get him back to the sort of style
that made him a free flowing batsman when he entered
the test arena in 1994.
"I'm really pleased with my batting. I've been working
very hard for the last 12 months on a lot of aspects
and I'm starting to get the results now. It was a good
time to do it in the World Cup and I feel very good
about where I'm at and what I can do. I can still get
better and that's what I've been wanting to achieve
by making the changes.
"I feel I'm hitting the ball like I used to and that
reflects in the amount of boundaries I've been getting
and my improving strike rate. That had become a factor
in my batting. It shouldn't have but it did and I couldn't
ignore it. But I'm confident now with my ball-striking
and that will send me in the right direction."
Fleming puts a lot of his captaincy success –
he has won a New Zealand record 19 tests in charge –
down to the players as much as the thorough planning
that has become a hallmark of his recent leadership.
"The players respond very well to the way we do things.
A lot of the planning is based on their preparation.
While I get the wraps, it's basically the team that
is doing it. That gives me satisfaction and that's great."
And that's the feeling that remains over the World
Cup, or more particularly that Australian game. Bond
aside, Fleming was let down by his troops. In bowling
out his speedster, he played his hand early and there
was no back-up that day.
"Yeah, one more ace would have been nice during that
Aussie game - or a joker!"
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