Sky Television recently featured an episode of their series 'The Chosen Ones' featuring former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming and watching the very in depth interview with Ian Smith convinced me to do a blog entry devoted to one of that country's best cricketers and least lorded.
Stephen Fleming debuted in Hamilton in March 1994 in a New Zealand side that was a shadow of the strong team of the 1980s. Hadlee, Cairns, Wright and Bracewell were gone and Martin Crowe was at the end of his career. The test in question against India and was drawn but not before the young debutant impressed with an elegant 92 (177) in the second innings.
Although not apparent to any at the time, this innings sums up the man's career:
- Ability to bat for long periods
- Excellence at driving and playing the pull/hook sho
- Habit of getting out just short of a century
Fleming, like the team itself, struggled after this to get consistency and put results on the board. Nearly 3 years later he scored his maiden test century, 129 (254) against England in Auckland. That series was important for him for another reason, after the team was thrashed by an innings in the second test Fleming was chosen to be captain in the third. He was just 1 month short of his 24 birthday and the youngest New Zealand had ever appointed. By his own admission he wasn't ready but the did score 62 important runs and although the test was lost, the margin was by just 4 wickets
In November of that year he faced a tough lesson in captaincy as Mark Taylor's Australian team beat New Zealand comfortably and Fleming's own form was poor (3 ducks in the series). However he lifted his game during the ODIs that followed scoring match-winning hundreds in Melbourne (116*) and Napier (111*)
One skill set in cricket that he excelled at was batting in the sub-continent. Fleming proved this for the first time in May of 1998 with his highest score (to that point) of 174* (333) in Colombo. For the next 3 years his captaincy flourished and the core group of players in the team reached their prime - the likes of Chris Cairns, Nathan Astle, Dion Nash and Craig McMillan. His own form was patchy but his tactics and plans for every player in each series pushed New Zealand's results and the ranking. The highlight for him and most of the country was a surprise series win in England in 1999 (after a very good showing in the World Cup)
Although that series represented a personal challenge for a team from a former colony, the real test was to compete with Australia - now under Steve Waugh - the best team in the world. Beaten 3-0 at home, the expectation was not great for the 2001 series IN Australia. However Fleming out thought his rival and drew the series 0-0 (could have been a 2-0 victory if certain things had gone the Kiwis' way). For himself the hundred (105 off 222 balls) in Perth was a welcome return to form and his reputation as the best captain in the world was secured. He had taken an out-gunned team to the belly of the beast and survivedThe fortunes of the team under Fleming continued to shine as 7 months later they won their first series in the West Indies in which he led from the front with 130 (230) in Bridgetown. Possibly Stephen's best innings, technically and as a captain, came against South Africa in the 2003 World cup where, after Gibbs had bashed the bowlers around, he made 134* in a rain affected match to win an unlikely victory.
One of the main criticisms of his game and particularly his batting record was the failure to convert 50s into 100s. Before 2000 he scored only 2 centuries and even after his retirement it remains a mystery as to this blight on his career. Martin Crowe suggested during his final series in 2008 that the role of captaincy robbed Fleming of important development of batting temperament in his mid-twenties. Indeed his technique had faults, a tendency to get out LBW when out of form was an obvious one (particularly exposed in 2005 against Australia)
While in England Fleming re-looked at his technique and as a result his run scoring increased after 2000. In 2003 he reached the peak of his powers with 274*(476) and 69*(234) in Colombo, once again proving his ability in the sub-continent. This effort, against Murali and all, should also be noted for his declaration on a flat wicket where he was certain to be the first New Zealand player to get 300; the chance for victory was more important. Returning to New Zealand, he made 192 (332) against Pakistan before being named New Zealand's player of the year after ODI hundreds against Pakistan and South Africa (both series were won against opposition renowned for thrashing the Black Caps)
Sadly after 2003 the team's results began to fall away as injury to players like Cairns and Bond weakened the side's ability to get 20 wickets. Some also attribute this trend to the appointment of John Bracewell as coach, a hard man brought in as a friend of Martin Snedden as much as for his skill. The ODI side continued to improve but the fortunes of the test side were summed up by a 3-0 beating in England just 5 years after victory there in 1999. Fleming continued to score runs though with 117 at Nottingham (his home away from home)
In Chittagong during October 2004 he secured 3 New Zealand records during a brilliant innings of 202 (318):
- Most capped player (87)
- Most innings played (150)
- Highest run scorer (passing Crowe)
The rest of the summer was not so pleasing for him or the team as Australia beat them easily 4-0 across 5 matches. In between Fleming scored my personal favourite innings of his, 106 (57) against a FICA XI in a charity match. The ease with which he stuck (not slogged) Murali and Warne for six during this game is a sight I will never forget.
In April 2006 he scored his New Zealand record 3rd double-century in South Africa (262 off 423 balls) but the team lost that series 2-0. In 2007 he led the team to his 4th World Cup (3rd as captain) and they performed well until a tough loss to Sri Lanka in the semi-final. He announced his retirement from the ODI captaincy after this match (and eventually from ODIs altogether. The feeling at the time, and this was expressed during the SKY interview with Ian Smith, was the ODI team needed to prepare for 2011 without him and he wanted to lift the TEST team before he retired. For unknown reasons he lost the captaincy in both forms and I don't blame him for a second for feeling angry at this betrayal (delivered over the phone no less)
Thus Fleming announced that the home series against England in 2008 would be his last. Under the new captain Daniel Vettori he found good form despite a disappointing 2-1 result, scoring 59 and 66 in the final match keeping his average above 40.
In terms of legacy, I believe Stephen Fleming was comparable to Richard Hadlee's influence during the 1980s. His captaincy and occasionally his run scoring returned the side to respectability between 1999 and 2004. He was the ultimate team man and serv
ed his country for 11 years as captain of a weaker team than Hadlee's era. As a batsman we will remember our elegant left-hander in the mold of David Gower, wonderful to watch if occasionally frustrating. New Zealanders should take pride in the fact that we witnessed one of the best captains of our history if not the entire history of the game. Current captain Vettori could do a lot worse than follow his example
Stephen Paul Fleming (1994 - 2008)
- 111 matches 189 innings (10 not outs)
- 7172 runs @ 40.06 with 9 hundreds and 46 fifties
- High Score: 274*
- 171 catches
Records:
- Most matches, innings, runs and catches by a New Zealand player
- Most successful New Zealand captain
- Second most test matches as captain (80)
- Most ODIs captain (218)
Please comment as to your memories of his career as my memory of him begins in just 2003/4 - basically at the end of his best years
Well that's it from here and I hope you join me again
It's good bye for now
