‘Flem’ at the helm as New Zealand enter golden era

GEORGETOWN – The 2007 World Cup may be decided by the decisions of one man.

The team captain. New Zealand’s Stephen Fleming takes some beating.Australia’s Ricky Ponting, South Africa’s Graeme Smith and West Indies’ Brian Lara are top motivators and also lead by example.Fleming, known simply as ‘Flem’ to his teammates, appears to cover all the bases.In his fourth World Cup and third as captain, Fleming is leading a meticulously prepared squad of players after an 18-month long programme of preparation to bring the trophy home to New Zealand for the first time.The 34-year-old regularly tops polls as the most popular person back home but he also has one of the finest cricketing brains in the world.Coach John Bracewell summed it up last week when he described Fleming as having ‘Mana’, a word used by New Zealand’s indigenous Maori people that can be translated as “respect” but also has more emotional connotations of friendship.Several of the team have Maori blood.Of the major cricket nations, New Zealand probably has the smallest stock of players to call on.But Fleming has taken this disadvantage and exploited it, developing a squad of multi-talented all rounders who bat down to number nine, as James Franklin showed on Monday when he joined in a partnership of 71 to take the match beyond Ireland.Fleming leads without shouting or dramatic gestures, but is precise in his demands on players.On Monday, he spent a minute or so directing a fielder to the exact place on the boundary he wanted him to stand.”The strong leaders are the ones more prepared and more resourceful,” Fleming said in a biography of him written two years ago.Fleming has formed a “management team” consisting mainly, but not only, of senior players like Daniel Vettori and Shane Bond.Both are regularly consulted on the field.Fleming and Bracewell run a deliberately loose ship on tour.Players are encouraged to do their own thing in their down time but when it comes to match days, he is as tough as nails.Players know their roles down to the finest details.A friendly man most of the time, Fleming also likes to do the unexpected.South Africa’s Smith found out in the middle of a one day international between the two countries when Fleming suddenly unleashed a torrent of abuse at his opposite number in a bid to unsettle him.Fleming is comfortably New Zealand’s most successful captain, having made his debut 13 years ago.As a batsman he averages around 40 in tests, a little less than his talent promises.An elegant left hander, Fleming loves to pick the ball off his toes and sweep it to the leg side boundary.A tall man, he drives with ease but has been known to give his wicket away a little too easily.Fleming was a growing talent in Christchurch when New Zealand played its most famous World Cup match, a semi-final with Pakistan in Auckland in 1992 that was narrowly lost, mainly because of a lightning innings from a young Inzamam-ul-Haq.Now, he feels the team’s preparation is so good that a semi-final spot will simply be the launch pad for a place in the final and a place in historyNampa-APNew Zealand’s Stephen Fleming takes some beating.Australia’s Ricky Ponting, South Africa’s Graeme Smith and West Indies’ Brian Lara are top motivators and also lead by example.Fleming, known simply as ‘Flem’ to his teammates, appears to cover all the bases.In his fourth World Cup and third as captain, Fleming is leading a meticulously prepared squad of players after an 18-month long programme of preparation to bring the trophy home to New Zealand for the first time.The 34-year-old regularly tops polls as the most popular person back home but he also has one of the finest cricketing brains in the world.Coach John Bracewell summed it up last week when he described Fleming as having ‘Mana’, a word used by New Zealand’s indigenous Maori people that can be translated as “respect” but also has more emotional connotations of friendship.Several of the team have Maori blood.Of the major cricket nations, New Zealand probably has the smallest stock of players to call on.But Fleming has taken this disadvantage and exploited it, developing a squad of multi-talented all rounders who bat down to number nine, as James Franklin showed on Monday when he joined in a partnership of 71 to take the match beyond Ireland.Fleming leads without shouting or dramatic gestures, but is precise in his demands on players.On Monday, he spent a minute or so directing a fielder to the exact place on the boundary he wanted him to stand.”The strong leaders are the ones more prepared and more resourceful,” Fleming said in a biography of him written two years ago.Fleming has formed a “management team” consisting mainly, but not only, of senior players like Daniel Vettori and Shane Bond.Both are regularly consulted on the field.Fleming and Bracewell run a deliberately loose ship on tour.Players are encouraged to do their own thing in their down time but when it comes to match days, he is as tough as nails.Players know their roles down to the finest details.A friendly man most of the time, Fleming also likes to do the unexpected.South Africa’s Smith found out in the middle of a one day international between the two countries when Fleming suddenly unleashed a torrent of abuse at his opposite number in a bid to unsettle him.Fleming is comfortably New Zealand’s most successful captain, having made his debut 13 years ago.As a batsman he averages around 40 in tests, a little less than his talent promises.An elegant left hander, Fleming loves to pick the ball off his toes and sweep it to the leg side boundary.A tall man, he drives with ease but has been known to give his wicket away a little too easily.Fleming was a growing talent in Christchurch when New Zealand played its most famous World Cup match, a semi-final with Pakistan in Auckland in 1992 that was narrowly lost, mainly because of a lightning innings from a young Inzamam-ul-Haq.Now, he feels the team’s preparation is so good that a semi-final spot will simply be the launch pad for a place in the final and a place in history Nampa-AP