The Fantastico Duo of New Zealander’s who I grew up Adoring

The Fantastico Duo of New Zealander’s who I grew up adoring

New Zealand were a team who always played tough with the limited talent and quality that they had. Right through my growing years they produced several cricketers who were very competitive and at the same time very affable too. In this post I will talk about one of the best captains to have ever graced the cricket field and one of the best ODI openers that New Zealand have ever produced. The impact of these two cricketers on how New Zealand progressed through the 90’s is very significant.

Stephen Fleming

Stephen Fleming started his career in the mid 1990’s and was soon made the captain of the national side at a very young age of just 23 years. He would go on to become one of the most tactically intelligent and astute captain of all time and definitely as the most successful captain for the Black Caps.

He was a naturally gifted batsman who played with a lovely straight bat and his on drives were like music that strung to your heart whenever he unfurled them. Like most left handers he was also a majestic player of the cover drive and could flick the ball effortlessly through mid-wicket when the bowlers erred by bowling on to his pads.

He played over 100 test matches for the Kiwis and made over 7000 runs with a highest score of 274* (an innings where he declared selflessly instead of batting longer to score a triple ton). In ODI’s his best knock came on my birthday in South Africa during the 2003 World Cup when his unbeaten 134 helped New Zealand to score an emphatic victory while chasing a revised target of 229 in 39 overs. In all he played 280 ODI’s and amassed over 8000 runs at an average of almost 33.

He became the coach of Chennai Super Kings after he retired where he put to use all his tactical nous and intelligence forming a strong ally with the captain of the Indian Cricket team MS Dhoni. He has also tasted success in the BBL in Australian where he coached the Melbourne team. He will now coach the Pune team in the IPL.

Nathan Astle

Nathan Astle was an opener who played with the free spirit and with an attacking intent. He holds the record for the fastest double century (off 158 balls) which he scored against the English in 2002 when he slammed 222 in a match that the Kiwis went on to lose.

His real value came in the ODI set up where he forced the issue at the top of the order and was also a very handy medium paced bowler. He was also a very good slip fielder which made him a complete package for ODI’s. He scored 16 ODI centuries for the Black Caps which places him at the very top in the list for them.

My Favorite Players - Stephen Fleming

Stephen Fleming - New Zealand

Stephen Fleming became the captain of New Zealand at a tender age of around 23 years. From the beginning it became clear to everyone who saw him that he was a born leader. New Zealand prospered under his astute captaincy. He was aggressive and was a brilliant tactician. A shrewd mind, he made optimum use of the resources available to him. He led the Kiwi team for a record number of times and is their most successful captain of all time.

His batting though, always left a lot to be desired and he never achieved what he could have with his abundant talent. Perhaps it was the added burden of captaining an ordinary team, we will never know. He was particularly strong off his pads but I mostly remember the shots he played straight down the ground with great joy. He played the ball so straight that when he played the shot I would get the feeling that it would crash into the stumps at the bowlers end but the ball would, almost miraculously, miss them and then bisect the mid-on/mid-off fielders and race away to the boundary. He was also a fabulous timer of the cricket ball, on most occasions he would just time the ball never trying to hit it hard.

My favorite Stephen Fleming moment came on the occasion of my 18th birthday when he scored a sublime 134* to down a rampaging South African side in the 2003 World Cup which was being played in South Africa. Chasing a revised target of 229 to win in 39 overs the Black caps won comfortably by 9 wickets!! I remember watching the full game even though my 12th standard board exams were going on at that time!

Stephen Fleming on the right after the memorable captains

 innings which defeated South Africa

He played 111 tests and scored over 7000 runs at an average of just over 40. He scored just 9 centuries even though he passed 50 55 number of times!! In ODI cricket he scored over 8000 runs in 280 matches. He made 8 tons but passed 50 57 number of times. Thus he passed 50 112 times (Test Matches and ODI's combined) but could only convert 17 of them into a 100 plus innings. That has to be the worst conversion rate for someone who played over a 100 tests and who opened the batting for his team for most of his career.

A captain is a man who can get the best out of each and every team-mate, who not only has the respect of his own team mates but also the adulation of opponents, who cops the flak when the team loses but lets the team bask in glory when it wins and stays humble, someone who is happy even in a loss knowing that his team gave all they had in the tank, someone who has a charismatic personality, one who is media friendly... Stephen Fleming was one such captain who had all these qualities in abundance.

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