Cricket: Coach role holds no appeal

Stephen Fleming. Photo / Getty Images

He is seen as the perfect king but may never wear the crown. Stephen Fleming was our greatest captain but doubts he will ever return to the national fold as coach.

Fleming has enjoyed recent success with the Chennai Super Kings, winning the IPL and the Champions League, but that seems the limit of his managerial ambitions.

Statistically our best skipper, with 28 test match victories (Geoff Howarth is next best with 11), the 37-year-old has long been viewed as a natural choice for a head coach role with the Black Caps but that seems increasingly unlikely as time goes by.

"I've got no real desire to coach for 12 months of the year, especially when you have got the ability to stay involved for two months," says Fleming. "At this point in time I am not really interested in anything more than [the IPL]."

Since his premature retirement from international cricket in 2008, Fleming has become involved in several business ventures, including player management. Brendon McCullum is among those in his stable. Since 2007 he has been part of the Super Kings; for the last two seasons as manager. Fleming is married with a young family and is settled in Wellington.

Would he consider the New Zealand post one day?

"You never say never but I would struggle to see it," he says candidly. "Probably not. At this point definitely not and certainly not at any time in the next three years. A number of players talk about the amount of cricket and the amount of time away.

"So then to turn around and do it all again, you have to be pretty committed or pretty devoted to the game itself.

"I'm enjoying other aspects of life but still getting my fix from the high-octane two months of IPL. The lifestyle that I left behind is pretty consuming [and] I'm happy to be out of it.

"To plunge back into it and look for a coaching career, from a family point of view, is a little bit selfish."

Former Black Caps coach Steve Rixon thinks that Fleming is more than able to make the step up but may never be willing. Rixon, assistant coach at the Super Kings, predicts the international game will gradually lose out as more and more quality coaches opt for the IPL.

"He would handle it no problem," asserts Rixon, "but at international level you are not going to get the best coaches involved. The IPL is lucrative, it is enjoyable and it is short. It is sad because at the end of the day there are a lot of guys who are going to see this as their greatest opportunity and jump on board.

"They will say, 'do I need to be away from home for 12 months of the year; running all around the world, for probably less money?' That scares me for international cricket."

Maybe it would be different if Fleming was asked, for example, to take over the control of the men in baggy green caps but the Black Caps at the moment are hardly an enticing prospect.

Even their greatest fans would admit they are no longer competitive at test level against the major nations. Recent losses to Bangladesh have not brightened their star at ODI level.

They were successful pioneers in the early days of Twenty20 but have fallen back into the pack as teams like Australia and South Africa have began to take the shortened form of the game seriously.

Rixon is saddened by the demise in standards, standing and performance that he has observed. The Australian, who coached the Black Caps between 1996 and 1999, retains an obvious affection for the side but struggles to be optimistic.

"I've been disappointed for three or four years - a lot of cricket has been played during that time and a lot of bad decisions have been made," he says.

"If they are fair dinkum about getting their game up to scratch, it is not going to happen the way it has been going."

Rixon is particularly perplexed by the structure which has been in place since former coach Andy Moles resigned in October 2009.

"I don't like the set-up at the moment. I think it was thrown together and I don't think it is designed properly.

"There doesn't appear to be a head coach. You still, under any circumstances, need someone to take the pressure off the captain.

"The captain should be left to do his own thing and make all the big decisions on the park. He should have some input into the side he wants on the park but generally just let the guy go and play cricket and captain the side.

"That is a big enough job by itself. Dan [Vettori] obviously seems to want that at the moment but I personally don't think it is the best mix for New Zealand cricket and I don't think it will work in the long run."

The 56-year-old Rixon has no agenda; he is not setting out to be outspoken or put the knife in; he comes across as someone who is passionate about the game and would love to see the New Zealand team perform to their potential.

Certainly, if the Fleming-Rixon double act appeals as one that could right the floundering ship that is New Zealand cricket.

Fleming has incredible respect and mana within the game, both locally and internationally. He was often lauded as tactically one of the best captains of his generation and has picked up invaluable skills over the past two seasons in Chennai.

"He is going to be a good operator in anything he does," observes Rixon. "What he lacks in specific coaching expertise he makes up for in so many other ways with his man management, organisational skills and imaginative mind.

"He is also not afraid to delegate and bring in experts. In the modern game these days that is how most people are coaching; they get good people around them. They don't let their ego get too carried away in letting other people into their team."

Meanwhile, Rixon is still revered as a hard taskmaster. When in charge of the New Zealand team he lifted standards on and off the field and is credited with helping a talented group of players develop a real will to win.

"I don't compromise with my standards," asserts Rixon. "They [the players] know if we are going to do things it is going to be spot on or not on."

Fleming has strong memories of Rixon the rectifier.

"He took our New Zealand team from being an average fielding team to arguably the best in the world. One of our big issues [at the Super Kings] was our poor fielding.

"We are now one of the best fielding teams in the IPL and the work that he does on fielding and the attitude towards it really rubs off on the other two facets of the game."

The two men have an obvious affinity and seem to complement each other perfectly.

"I said 10 years ago to Flem that somewhere somehow, we will catch up again," recalls Rixon. "We get on well and there are no agendas. I have no problems reversing the roles. At times I can sit back and have a giggle because I am not being the ogre."

So could it happen? There is a sense that Rixon has unfinished business and would love to take his super-competitive instincts back into the international arena. The pragmatic Fleming would take some persuading but if anyone could have a chance of twisting his arm it may be Rixon.

"It would be an appealing option," admits Rixon.

"To be doing something with Stephen with a group that I still have an affiliation with it would be an exciting concept."

Unfortunately it may be hard to compete with the rewards on offer in the IPL and the consequent freedom that it provides.

"You would never say no to anything - and I say no to not much - but I think we are on an extremely good wicket at the moment," says Rixon. "Anyway, I don't think they [New Zealand Cricket] could afford the duo," he jokes.

Fleming feels New Zealanders have yet to fully grasp the impact of the IPL on the cricketing world.

"Look at India now - it almost looks like it is asleep with the Commonwealth Games but for the two months of the IPL it takes over the country.

"It is incredibly rewarding and an amazing competition but New Zealand and Australia don't really get to see it because of the time zones."

Fleming also says the emerging tactical and strategic elements of Twenty20cricket are often under-estimated.

"People think it is a simple game but it is actually one of the more complex games out of the three," says Fleming.

"In test cricket, you have time to assess and evaluate what you want to do and how you plan to do it; one day cricket is a bit quicker but in Twenty20 you have to think on your feet.

"You have to have all options covered and the ability to attack and defend still applies but the fast forward button is pressed and you have to make decisions very quickly.. "

Fleming has close personal and business association with several current Black Caps and is reluctant to offer his opinion on the team and management set-up.

"I don't really share my view on that one. It is the direction they have gone and we have to support Dan [Vettori]. We talk at times - we could probably talk more - just to keep bouncing ideas around.

"I know the demands that Dan would have on him as a world-class player and also looking to develop a winning side for the World Cup.

"I will support whatever structure they go forward with.

"My views on it may differ a little bit but that is irrelevant."