Ode to Fleming: a master of inner peace and patron
saint of unfashionable causes
By Peter Roebuck
From The Sydney Morning Herald, 24 October 2003
Stephen Fleming's captaincy counts among the attractions
of the one-day series underway in India.
Watching an astute captain as he goes about his business
can be as much fun as following a crafty spinner as
he lays his trap. Fleming is both as outstanding leader
and an intelligent tactician and is widely regarded
as one of the best captains in the game. Not so long
ago the Kiwis would have been the rank outsiders in
this competition.
It says a lot about Fleming that a team without a single
indisputably great player stands as much chance as its
rivals of lifting the trophy at Eden Gardens on November
18.
Despite losing Chris Cairns and Shane Bond before
the series had begun, the Kiwis held the Indians to
a draw in the recently completed and admittedly brief
engagement. Indeed the visitors dominated the second
Test and only to be thwarted by admirable work from
Dinesh Chopra, an opener with a wide bat and plenty
of patience. New Zealand played some superb cricket,
with all the batsmen scoring runs and Darryl Tuffey
taking wickets on a bowler's graveyard.
Fleming's ability to extract strong contributions
from men like Scott Styris and Tuffey counts among his
strongest points. In less sympathetic hands these unfashionable
players might have remained in the obscurity of domestic
cricket. Fleming conveys belief in his players, and
belief has the same effect upon sportsmen as water upon
a rose. He gives them simple instructions within their
capacities and trusts them to carry out the plan.
Unlike some batting captains he does not regard every
loose delivery as an unmitigated disaster requiring
an immediate reprimand. He takes setbacks in his stride
and gives the bowler the time he needs to repair the
damage.
Indeed the New Zealander counts among the most serene
of leaders. Even in the hurly-burly of a one-day match,
he remains as calm and considered as 007 in a tight
spot.
He has the gift of being simultaneously withdrawn
and involved.
If his emotions are churning, he does not show it,
preferring to retain an unflustered demeanour, the better
to settle his players and contemplate his next move.
Ordinarily it is taken as read that anyone this laid
back has either smoked reefers for breakfast or become
a Buddhist.
In Fleming's case it seems to be merely a question
of temperament. He does not allow tension or desire
to get the better of him, remains in control even as
his team is buffeted by changeable winds .
Not that Fleming could be mistaken for those laid
back customers seen at Woodstock all those years ago.
Some captains are so calm they might as well be asleep.
Fleming drives his team along and keeps his grip upon
the game, but he does so without drawing attention to
himself.
Clearly he does his best work before the match has
begun. Fleming's players understand their roles and
are familiar with the tactics to be used and the thinking
behind them. Many of the players will have contributed
to the planning.
Besides showing faith in his own players, Fleming
also detects weaknesses in his opponents. Every player
is studied with the intention of uncovering faults and
fielding positions that can make them work harder for
their runs.
Respected batsmen are scrutinised with particular rigour
in search of the heel that might be their undoing. Fleming's
careful approach helps to instil confidence in his players
and sews seeds of doubt in the minds of his opponents.
The Waugh twins and Tendulkar can be included on the
list of batsmen who have been restrained by the strategies
adopted by this thoughtful New Zealand captain.
Now Fleming and his fellow analysts face the task
of trying to subdue Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden.
If the ball swings, their hopes will rise for both
batsmen can be left stranded by late movement.
If the ball refuses to leave the straight and narrow,
an approach regrettably rare among teenagers, then the
Kiwis may find that not even the subtlest tactic can
stand in the path of brute force.
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