Cricket: Fleming set to miss one-day series

By MARK GEENTY

LEEDS - New Zealand's cricket captain Stephen Fleming is looking increasingly likely to miss the one-day cricket tri-series later this month in an attempt to overcome his injury woes.

A source close to Fleming told NZPA today he was set to return home after the test series against England, thereby missing the one-dayers with England and the West Indies.

To make matters worse on a tour where not a lot has gone right, Fleming was struck down by an ear infection and quarantined from his teammates on the eve of today's second test against England.

The decision would give Fleming at least two months' rest before the Champions Trophy tournament in England in September as he still fights to get over the hip flexor injury which has dogged him since last November.

Two cortisone injections haven't done the trick and the injury was still hampering his running, hardly ideal for a one-day series.

He spoke of the injury frustration as recently as last week, and it was clearly prominent in his mind going into his 84th test here.

"I've got enough in me to get through the test series then monitor it from there," he said.

"It's still around, it's annoying but it's one of the things about touring and playing a lot of cricket."

New Zealand manager Lindsay Crocker said no decision had been made to send Fleming home, but it was "an option".

New Zealand have a torrid few months after the Champions Trophy, touring Bangladesh in October for tests and one-dayers, Australia for two tests and three one-dayers, then back-to-back home series against Sri Lanka and Australia from December to March.

New Zealand's most successful test captain hasn't appeared his usual self on the England tour and put in one of his less convincing performances in charge in the seven-wicket loss in the first test at Lord's.

Coach John Bracewell admitted some mistakes were made in an evenly-fought test.

"There were options that perhaps we missed, and I wouldn't put that solely on the captain. That may have come from the back room management as well.

"We've looked at addressing those issues, we've looked at our stats in the third or fourth innings. It's not necessarily a captaincy issue, he used his options that he felt could win the match and I was more than happy to back those."

Fleming's absence would mean another shot at the captaincy for allrounder Chris Cairns in their series opener against England at Old Trafford on June 24.

Cairns, captain on the tour of Pakistan last December when Fleming's injury first hit, is set for an emotional farewell from test cricket at Trent Bridge, his former home county ground.

Fleming has been in dynamic one-day form opening the innings, notably scoring two matchwinning centuries at Christchurch's Jade Stadium against Pakistan in January and South Africa in February.

He averaged 62 against Pakistan and 44 against South Africa as New Zealand won both series 4-1 and 5-1.

Fleming's tri-series absence would be offset by the return of Nathan Astle, the man second to him on the list of New Zealand one-day runscorers, whose previous one-day international was at the World Cup 15 months ago.

He required surgery on both knees last year but made an excellent comeback here, scoring 64 and 49 in the first test then 93 against Leicestershire at the weekend.

- NZPA