Cricket: Fleming ready to face grilling

JOHANNESBURG - Stephen Fleming fully expects to be grilled on his captaincy and asked to explain the team's results when the New Zealand cricket side arrive home on Friday.

But the 27-year-old is not prepared to accept the entire blame for the up-and-down performances in the 18 weeks the team have been away in Singapore, Zimbabwe, Kenya and South Africa.

Barring any miracles overnight on the final day of the third test, New Zealand will arrive home from South Africa winless, with a 0-5 one-day record and a 0-2 test series loss.

Fleming knows he is answerable for the team's failure to topple a powerful South African side.

"I'll probably be questioned quite a bit, and quite rightly there will be captaincy discussions after a tour of this length and its results," Fleming said.

"The people who will be involved understand the workings of the team, and it will be a good discussion."

Fleming and coach David Trist are likely to front up to New Zealand Cricket chief executive Christopher Doig and the other selectors, Sir Richard Hadlee, Ross Dykes and Brian McKechnie.

The captaincy issue will be a hot topic, and a temporary change could be discussed for the one-day side to take the heat off Fleming, enabling him to concentrate on his batting.

Roger Twose, despite approaching retirement, is the leading candidate to take over.

Fleming, New Zealand's most talented batsman since Martin Crowe, has spent most of this year in a form slump and appears to have felt the added weight of captaincy.

- NZPA