Bangladesh don't learn from their experience: Fleming

Stephen Fleming, who has led New Zealand in 80 Tests has won 28, making the Christchurch-born left-hander his country’s most successful captain. With 6,788 runs in 107 Tests, Fleming is also the leading Test scorer for the Blacks Caps. He speaks about his performance and New Zealand cricket.

Q: How does it feel being the longest serving and most successful captain of New Zealand?

Fleming: I am lucky I guess to be out there for so long. I think, yes, not many captains were given the chance to do it so long. My first four or five years in the job passed in trying to understand the captaincy. But the last five years were pretty good. I just learned captaincy with experience. I had to study the players and read the game, so I had to work very hard.

Q: … and as an ordinary member of the side?

Fleming: It's a little bit strange because I was captain throughout most of my career. So, not making decisions and being involved in the decision-making process is different for me. It is a bit hard to concentrate on my batting. I guess I have come to the latter stages of my career. It's going to be hard to make that adjustment.

Q: As captain and player did you have any role model?

Fleming: Martin Crowe was very good, he was very innovative. He was always looking at different ways of doing things and I really admired that. The 1992 World Cup was a great example of his leadership quality. Steve Waugh was also another captain that I respected as a captain.

Q: You have played in four World Cups as a player and captained the side on three occasions. But you could not take the side beyond the semi-final stage. How disappointing was that? Fleming: I was very disappointed this time. I knew this was my last chance and I was disappointed at not getting through to the final. But still I am very proud to play in the semi-finals. Q: Was it the reason for stepping down?

Fleming: I felt I had nothing more to give in the one-day game. I took responsibility for failing to qualify for the final and winning the World Cup. So, that was one of the reasons. I gave my best. I had nothing more to give and also Daniel Vettori needed an opportunity.

Q: Back to Test cricket, you have only nine centuries against 42 half-centuries. Don’t you think the conversion rate is poor?

Fleming: Yes, it is poor. I don't know why it happened. Maybe lack of skill I can't really explain it. It was not one trend all the way through, it happened in different stages.

Q: Did you ever think you would be the leading scorer for New Zealand in Test cricket?

Fleming: Not really. It maybe one of the reasons I have not converted as many innings as I should have. Getting 70 not out or 130 not out were not an issue to me. My satisfaction is to wining the game, not how many runs I have scored. It's great to become the leading run scorer, but that's only one thing.

Q: Can you remember the moment when you overtook Crowe? It happened in Chittagong against Bangladesh in 2004.

Fleming: It was really a memorable moment, because I had overtaken a great player and he was my idol. I grow up watching him and to go past him was special. I am very lucky.

Q: In your opinion where is New Zealand cricket at the moment?

Fleming: I think one-day cricket is very good. We are consistently competing, though we lost to South Africa and Australia in the last two series. We are definitely in the top three or four, which is good I suppose. Test cricket needs more work. We need to play more Test cricket. It exposes the lack of skill we have at the moment. We need some more skill in our players to become a better Test team.

Q: Last year New Zealand played only two Tests whereas Bangladesh got to play five. How does that strike you?

Fleming: Last year was okay because it was a World Cup year. But maybe we need at least 10 Tests in every other year.

Q: You have seen the Bangladesh team for so many years. How do you rate them?

Fleming: The hardest thing is that Bangladesh don't learn from their experience. It's very hard when you are not winning the game. Keep learning and stay confident and excited about the game. You see some of your players are really very gifted. If you continue to lose the game, lack of confidence plays on your mind. They have got a good coach now. They are developing. Some of the games they won, they played extremely well. Hopefully, they will become more consistent.

Q: Would you say they are a little bit better than they were in 2004?

Fleming: The batting is still a concern. I think opener Tamim is a good player. Your skipper is a good player. Just a bit more consistency will make them a better side. Talent is there. It is just a case of winning and getting some confidence.

Q: How long do think you will play cricket?

Fleming: It's one Test at the moment and let's see how it goes.

Q: On Sunday you emulated Brian Lara to take maximum catches (163) after Mark Waugh. How does it feel?

Fleming: That’s the only way I can get to cross Brian.

Q: After finishing the career what you will do?

Fleming: No cricket. I am going to concentrate on business.