Bracewell has doubts over Fleming's plans
By Richard Boock
From the NZ Herald, 16 September 2004
Stephen Fleming's rumoured stint
with English county team Surrey hasn't exactly received
an unqualified endorsement from New Zealand coach John
Bracewell.
Fleming, who has already played
for Middlesex and Yorkshire, is reportedly close to
confirming a deal with Surrey, who are coached by his
former New Zealand boss, Steve Rixon, and considered
one of the glamour sides on the circuit.
Fleming is evidently just one of
several New Zealand players being pursued to sign county
contacts for next winter, when the Black Caps have a
four-month gap between the end of their home season
and the tour to Zimbabwe at the end of August.
Bracewell, who cut his teeth in
English cricket as coach of Gloucester, said he understood
why county teams would want Fleming in their ranks.
However he had some reservations
about his skipper heading to Surrey and reuniting with
Rixon.
"It's clear that English cricket
desperately want Stephen Fleming and [South African
captain] Graeme Smith on the county scene, because they
know the discipline and commitment that those players
bring to the table," he said.
"My only concern about Surrey is
that Flem and Rixon are apparently pretty close, and
possibly too close in terms of what's best for Stephen.
"I mean, if they make him captain,
I'm not sure that he won't be worn out by the experience,
and that's not great for him or for the New Zealand
team."
New Zealand Cricket chief Martin
Snedden said yesterday that the national squad members
would still be under contract at that stage of next
year, and that his organisation would have the final
word on county offers.
However, he envisaged little reason
for any intervention, beyond safeguarding the interests
of New Zealand's more injury-prone bowlers, and believed
in most cases that the experience would prove beneficial
for the players concerned.
Bracewell said Surrey was effectively
the Manchester United of English county cricket, but
had their own problems, including a widely-dispersed
player-base, and a slightly detached sense of club camaraderie.
"It isn't the same as what you
might get with a smaller, more community-based team.
"There's a risk of the enjoyment
factor being lost, and I guess that's something Flem
has to look at pretty hard." |
