KEY POINTS:
When Stephen Fleming playfully poked Daniel Vettori in the ribs and prematurely anointed him as New Zealand's one-day cricket skipper, he was in a particularly jovial mood inside the house bar of Jamaica's Pegasus Hotel.
His demeanour at the end of the World Cup wake in April was understandable, given he had rid himself of the burden of captaining the limited overs side a few hours earlier during the post-semifinal press conference at Sabina Park.
Less than five months later, Fleming was doubtless not as impressed when he was stripped of his test leadership to boot.
After weeks of speculation, a New Zealand Cricket statement clarified Fleming's future on Wednesday by announcing that Vettori has had his responsibilities extended to the five-day format - starting with a two-test visit to South Africa in November.
Fleming had been forewarned, with coach John Bracewell phoning him two weeks ago while he was plying his trade for English county side Nottinghamshire.
A deep thinker and shrewd tactician, Fleming initially remained silent, composing himself before eventually expressing his disappointment in measured terms.
While happy to admit he was "cooked" in terms of leading the one-day side, he had hoped to retain the test reins, particularly as he had failed on two attempts to trump South Africa in the republic.
In April he had expressed a desire to concentrate on his batting - a discipline that has never matched the lofty standards of his leadership - for three to four more seasons, or as long as the reflexes allowed.
However, his demotion from the captaincy has prompted him to abandon the one-day game altogether, robbing New Zealand of 279 games worth of experience and the cement counter-balancing what is often a buttery top order.
He is now looking no further than the home series against England next February, although he would like to emulate Chris Cairns and bid farewell on his county ground at Trent Bridge on the return visit in May.
The reasoning behind his progressive fall from grace has not been definitively explained, although there is one telling statistic a cricketer cannot hide behind: Fleming turned 34 in the West Indies during the World Cup.
While his mentor across the Tasman, Steve Waugh, boxed on until the age of 38, NZC's selection panel of Bracewell, Glenn Turner, Dion Nash and Sir Richard Hadlee obviously considered it was opportune to make the total transition to Vettori, an automatic choice in the side and six years Fleming's junior.
Unwittingly, Fleming may have given NZC the opportunity to conduct its bloodless coup by passing the one-day baton on to his spinner and then entering into negotiations with the Indian-based rebel Twenty20 league - discussions that included the offer of a $700,000 contract.
Fleming subsequently pulled out but he was back in New Delhi yesterday, as a promoter of the International Cricket Council's own Twenty20 Champions League, a tournament designed to kill off the unsanctioned circus.
His pledge of allegiance to the establishment may have come too late to save his captaincy career, but regardless of how and when Fleming decides to pull stumps, his high standing in New Zealand cricket is assured.
Reflecting on his 80 tests in charge - among them 28 wins and 25 draws - Fleming joked he got the job by default part way through England's visit to New Zealand in 1997.
Polarising captain Lee Germon missed the third test with a groin strain, giving coach Steve Rixon the in he needed to groom a 23-year-old protege.
Fleming inherited a fractured team at a time when New Zealand was at another of its low ebbs. The 58 tests played before Fleming's dramatic rise yielded just seven victories.
"It was a calculated punt with Flem," Rixon said, before correcting himself. "I call it that, but it was never that big a decision. He was never far from my thoughts when the reissuing of the captaincy had to come around."
Fleming eventually matured into the dominating personality within the team environs, albeit with help from the former Australian wicketkeeper's guiding hand.
"He was smart enough in the early days to realise he'd have to use me as much as possible - it was like echoing thoughts when we'd go into a team meeting," said Rixon. "We'd sit down and have a talk and then in his own eloquent way he'd transfer that to the players.
"When we first started I said, 'While I'm making most of the decisions and you're relating them to the players, somewhere along the way you will cross over and you'll be making the decisions by yourself.'
"I knew when it happened it would be an interesting time, and it did in England [in 1999] when I could see he was so far on top of his own captaincy."
Fleming's autonomy continued under the brief reign of David Trist, who first coached New Zealand's most successful skipper as a 17-year-old.
"From that moment, the way he carried himself, the thought processes that he had for his own game and the broader game was very apparent," he said. Trist was only in charge of the New Zealand team for a year or so and then basically in name only.
"Stephen was taking a major role in the running of the side. He showed all the skills and ability to lead very effectively."
Trist's tenure was highlighted by the side's victory in the ICC mini World Cup in Kenya in 2000, although the following tour of South Africa was a disaster as injuries decimated the squad.
However, it was one-day series losses to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka at home a year later that prompted Fleming to doubt his ability for the first time. He offered to resign, an invitation NZC declined.
If that season was his nadir, the new regime under another Cantabrian, Denis Aberhart, arguably saw Fleming at the top of his game.
A drawn three-test series in Australia was the forerunner of a compelling one-day series in early 2002 that saw Fleming mastermind the Black Caps' surge to the final against South Africa at host Australia's expense.
Fleming's imaginative field settings, and expert marshalling of bowling resources spearheaded by newcomer Shane Bond, consistently had Australia on the back foot - so much so it spelled the end of Steve Waugh's one-day captaincy and his sibling Mark's one-day career.
The success in Australia was followed by dramas off the field - the bombing of the team hotel in Pakistan, a protracted pay dispute between NZC and the Players' Association and a historic series win in the West Indies.
The devastation in Karachi finally shook Fleming's cool demeanour, his breaking down on arrival home one of the enduring images of the year.
The bitter contractual dispute also cast Fleming in the role of go-between, with his leadership skills helping to resolve the impasse before it jeopardised New Zealand's international commitments.
On the field, 2003 was another high point for Fleming although New Zealand failed for a second time under his leadership to challenge for the one-day World Cup, through no fault of his.
In what will be regarded as the greatest innings of his one-day career, Fleming crafted a magnificent, rain-interrupted, unbeaten 134 to overhaul South Africa's 300-plus tally in Johannesburg and enable New Zealand to progress to the Super Six stage.
Aberhart departed at the end of the Sri Lankan tour in 2003 - where Fleming incidentally amassed his highest test score of 274 - and was replaced by Bracewell.
The abrasive former test offspinner's arrival effectively represented the loosening of Fleming's grip.
Bracewell was a domineering figure on the failed tour to Australia in late 2004, riling the locals with allegations of doctored pitches and partisan umpiring. Although he has subsequently toned down, his regime has dovetailed with Vettori's development as an alternative leader.
For the first time Fleming was forced to sit out one-day internationals in a bid to groom the 28-year-old, a decision that did not sit well with the elder statesman.
Bracewell and NZC high performance director Ric Charlesworth, the former Australian hockey guru, also placed more emphasis on developing the team's leadership group - a band of senior players including Brendon McCullum, Jacob Oram and Bond.
Missing selection last month for the Twenty20 World Cup squad was another red flag for Fleming, a rejection he took with good grace. And his former coaches also expect he will have little difficulty working under Vettori, given their friendship.
- NZPA
Stephen Fleming
* Born: April 1, 1973, Christchurch.
Test record
* Debut v India at Hamilton, 1993-94.
* 104 tests, 6620 runs at 39.64; nine 100s, 41 50s, 159 catches. Highest score 274 not out v Sri Lanka at Colombo 2003.
* Test captaincy (1997-2006):
* Matches: 80, won 28, lost 27, drawn 25.
* Win ratio: 35 per cent.
ODI record
* Debut v India at Napier, 1993-94.
* 279 matches, 268 innings, 21 not outs, 8007 runs at 32.41; eight 100s, 49 50s, strike rate 71.40 (runs per 100 balls), 132 catches.
* Highest score 134 not out v South Africa at Johannesburg, 2003.
* ODI captaincy (1997-2007):
* Matches: 218, won 98, lost 106, tied 1, no result 13.
* Win ratio: 45 per cent.
