Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain, came out with both guns blazing today accusing England of disrespecting his side’s achievement in winning the 1999 series between the two countries, promising to pressure key players and refusing to buy into
Lynn McConnell12-Mar-2002
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Fleming – all guns blazing Photo Reuters |
Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain, came out with both guns blazing today accusing England of disrespecting his side’s achievement in winning the 1999 series between the two countries, promising to pressure key players and refusing to buy into the underdog hand that Nasser Hussain has already played.It was heady stuff from an international captain at ease with his role as one of the longer serving leaders in the game nowadays.The National Bank Test series for the Jordan Rosebowl, the trophy contested whenever England plays a Test series in New Zealand, gets underway in Christchurch tomorrow.Fleming said the players who were in England in 1999 still feel they don’t get credit for their series win, and that was a massive motivation for his players.”The general feel about that series was that it was one of the lowest points in English cricket history which to me is a slur on us because we played some pretty good cricket.”We’ve got a pretty good core of players who remember that quite fondly and who have been looking forward to this for a long time.”We’re not overly respected in England, you get that feeling through playing a season there domestically, and reports back, so we’ve got a massive point to prove.”He told one English questioner at this morning’s pre-Test press conference: “We don’t buy into this underdog tag your captain has used, we’ve played that card since Adam was a boy. We know what’s going on, we don’t buy into it, we’re confident of winning.”And we’ll put certain people under pressure, their captain for one.”The side was desperate to win. There was nothing personal against the England players, it was a general feeling when playing a side and that came from respect as well, he said.New Zealand had taken much out of their successful policy in Australia which nearly produced two wins and had captured the imagination of cricket fans on both sides of the Tasman Sea.Fleming said the highlight of the side’s policy which neutered the Australian strike force of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, was the manner in which his bowlers executed the plan and were backed up by batsmen who cashed in big-time.”You can have all the best plans in the world but the execution is the key and that’s what we’ve been concentrating on in our practice.”The players have been stressing to themselves that they build on what they achieved against Australia and Fleming was delighted with that.They wanted good performances in this series because that was how the side would be summed up at the end of the season.The side was nervously confident, a quality Fleming felt was right.”We respect what is coming up, we have looked forward to it for a while, me in particular, and we can’t wait until tomorrow.”We think we’ve got a strong side, we’re happy with the balance of the side we have and with the experience we have and we think in a Test series that counts for a lot.The portable pitch was a factor in the match, but he took the view that the toss wasn’t everything and to win a match a side still have to play well. Whatever happened at the flip of the coin, New Zealand would be looking to do very well in the first session in order to dominate the Test.Fleming wasn’t distracted by the prospect of moving into third place on the ICC Test Championship. He was more concerned about beating England, and to him that was more exciting.Experience was an important factor in the side, especially the calibre of the players with the experience.”The players around me are fantastic and proved during Australia that we have a long batting order.The newcomers like Ian Butler had an opportunity to work with a motivated Chris Cairns who was chasing milestones.”We will concentrate very hard on getting 20 wickets.”Butler’s opening spell was the most important because of the quality of bowling support behind which allowed him to rotate the bowling a lot quicker if having to stop the flow of runs.But he expected him to be able to come back well and would use him in short bursts by preference. He had the ability to bowl well against the left-handers, three of whom occupy the England top four.
