Fleming likely to follow in footsteps of Hadlee and
Cairns
By Richard Boock
From the NZ Herald, 5 October 2004
Stephen Fleming is poised to play
for Nottingham in next year's English county championship.
The New Zealand captain yesterday
ended weeks of speculation about his short-term future
when he revealed he was close to signing with Notts,
previously the home away from home for Sir Richard Hadlee
and Chris Cairns.
The deal, once ratified by New
Zealand Cricket, will see Fleming installed as captain
of the Trent Bridge-based county for a one-season contract,
following his stints with Middlesex in 2001 and with
Yorkshire last year.
Fleming had initially been talking
with the South London-based Surrey county, and was linked
with Somerset as recently as this week.
However, he said a wish to avoid
the "hustle and bustle" of London, and to commit for
one, rather than two seasons, led him to turn his back
on Surrey and former Black Caps' coach Steve Rixon.
"I just think it might have become
a little too intense at Surrey," Fleming said. "I've
never really found London conducive for relaxing and
enjoying my cricket, and that certainly influenced my
decision-making.
"On top of that, Notts won first-division
promotion in the one-day and four-day competitions this
season, so I'm looking forward to the idea of getting
involved in their resurgence."
Fleming said he was happy to be
asked to be captain, as he seemed to have reached a
stage of his career where he found the leadership familiar
and comforting.
"Not being captain isn't as easy
as it sounds," he said. "I'm more comfortable holding
the reins these days and if I had a choice, would probably
take them every time."
The news will no doubt agree with
New Zealand coach John Bracewell, who last month expressed
reservations about the idea of Fleming heading for Surrey
and reuniting with Rixon.
Bracewell said there were concerns
that Fleming would be worn out at the glamour county,
and that the reunion with Rixon could prove counter-productive
in terms of his energy levels.
"There's a risk of the enjoyment
factor being lost, and I guess that's something Flem
has to look at pretty hard," he said at the time.
Meanwhile, NZC has refused to comment
on a report that Fleming will return to New Zealand
for surgery at the end of this month's test series against
Bangladesh, leaving Daniel Vettori as caretaker skipper
for the subsequent three one-day internationals.
The Dominion Post report suggested
Vettori would be preferred as captain ahead of Chris
Cairns, Craig McMillan or Jacob Oram. |
