Stephen Fleming doesn’t buy into the argument that events in New Zealand last summer should necessarily be a precursor for a series of revenge in India
Lynn McConnell18-Sep-2003Stephen Fleming doesn’t buy into the argument that events in New Zealand last summer should necessarily be a precursor for a series of revenge in India. New Zealand might have been totally dominant in conditions that were less than favourable to both teams, but they had won the war of adaptation.Because that is what the series was about – adapting to unnatural conditions by employing the best techniques to minimise error. New Zealand, admittedly with greater exposure to the types of conditions on offer, proved better at that, and were able to dominate that series as a consequence.Fleming, and his New Zealanders, know full well that they will not see any green, seamers’ tracks in India. “We expect spinners’ tracks, that is the way it has always been in India and the onus is on us this time to adjust. Talk of revenge and bad blood doesn’t come into it. I can’t see the issue. Touring India is always a challenge, and always has been,” he said.Not that it has put Fleming off. He makes the point that he has toured India several times at different levels of the game, from the time he was part of a New Zealand Youth team that toured. “It is one of the most fascinating places in the cricket world,” he said, and he rated a tour of India a much tougher proposition than touring Australia.For all the great rivalry between New Zealand and Australia, rivalry born of neighbourliness, a tour of Australia was just an extension of living and playing in New Zealand. The pitches might be a little harder and faster, the cricket atmosphere a little more intense but, that aside, Australia was just an extension of the New Zealand experience.India offered different demands. “The toughest challenge is culturally and physically. There are a lot of adjustments you have to make and the quicker you adapt the better you do. We have looked to embrace the culture on previous tours and I have found tours of India very enjoyable.”Mentally it is very demanding. Coping with the fan pressure is part of it. They are very passionate about their team and they want to see it do well. It is a very challenging arena to walk into when there are 50,000-60,000 fans screaming. You have to quickly get used to that,” Fleming said.With the amount of exposure to overseas sides now, much of the mystique that surrounded tours to foreign countries, as recently as only 20 years ago, has been removed. Jet travel, increased programmes and the arrival of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh has meant that much more cricket is played under Asian conditions. As a result of programming changes, New Zealand go to India with their last tour having been to Sri Lanka which for several of the team was their last cricket.That ensured the exposure they had to Asian conditions would be fresh in their minds after their winter break. Fleming said New Zealand had used the Sri Lankan tour to work on their defensive techniques against their spinners, especially Muttiah Muralitharan.”We learnt how to stay in against the player who is the best spinner in the world. Now developing the scoring opportunities is the next step. We have to remember those defensive qualities while looking to score more often. It is a case of having watched a lot of him and building up the information and putting it to work. You then find a rough bit of dirt to practice how you can handle him. The important thing against spin is to get time against it. And if you can get through the first 15-20 minutes you find it a little easier. It is a pure experience thing, the more information you have, the more you are able to cope,” he said.Fleming acknowledged that India had two fine spinners in Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble and they fully expected to see a lot of them during the series, if not some others as well. “It is just an adjustment thing. Harbhajan is probably similar to Murali while the guys have seen a lot of Kumble and know what to expect from him.”New Zealand will be without their strike bowling weapon Shane Bond, a player who has already shown that unfavourable surfaces for faster bowlers are not necessarily a problem for him, and Chris Cairns who was unavailable for the Test series. That puts pressure on the younger brigade, but Fleming is happy with the spinners he has available. The decision to take offspinner Paul Wiseman to Sri Lanka had worked out well for the side and as a result, Fleming expected he and Daniel Vettori to be up to the task in India.”Our spinners bowled very well in Sri Lanka. Vettori is the key, but with Paul Wiseman’s re-emergence we have two very good bowlers. We knew this tour was coming up and with his experience in the sub-continent, they should both be pretty successful. Bond may be out and Cairns may still be working his way back into his bowling but we have other bowlers. Ian Butler is one while there are others. We will look to take wickets, we are not a defensive side. There are times in India when you have to be defensive when the opposition are batting well, it is the same for them if we are doing well. It is a case of finding the balance,” Fleming said.He knew there was a temptation for some to describe the Indian side as new India, but it wasn’t something he necessarily agreed with. The side was a younger one. “But they have always had inspirational players and they have some very talented individuals. There are enough younger players to have ensured that their fielding has improved significantly. They are well rounded and always pretty competitive, especially in India,” he said.Having been around the international captaincy block as long as anyone else in the international game now, Fleming sits easily in the leadership role. He has learned the significant benefits of merging the requirements of batting and captaincy and over the past 12 months has been a much more significant player. His outstanding form in the World Cup where he played one of the innings of the tournament, scoring 134 not out in New Zealand’s great chase to beat South Africa and then capping that with the second highest score by a New Zealand batsman in Tests his 274 not out against Sri Lanka, was reward for the work he had put in to improve his batting.It proved the perfect complement to his captaincy skills and has set him up for the Indian tour.”It is a great challenge as a captain. It is tough, but it is a case of working with the management of the side and building the players’ confidence. In our down time, of which there tends to be a lot, it is a case of staying positive,” he said.Unfashionable as New Zealand may be in the eyes of some in the cricket world, they have earned their third placing in the Test rankings on merit and knowing they can win overseas has set them up for a compelling trial of their adaptation abilities in India and Pakistan.