TNT Sports
Fleming pride at reign
By
Published 25/04/2007 at 18:40 GMT+1
Outgoing New Zealand one-day captain Stephen Fleming has been made to regret his pronouncement that Sri Lanka often struggle in the last ten overs of an innings and admitted that his side was found lacking, but is proud of his achievements over the years.
Eurosport
Image credit: TNT Sports
The 1996 champions smashed 102 in that time in Tuesday's World Cup semi-final to take the game away from the Kiwis, with Fleming's opposite number Mahela Jayawardene hitting an unbeaten 115.
It was a bitter blow for New Zealand, who have never reached a World Cup final despite making the last-four stage on five occasions.
"To register the amount of semi-finals we've had is, I would say, a pretty proud record," he said. "We're disappointed we've not gone further, but there are a lot of sides that haven't made the semis.
"We weren't as good as we could be. It probably had something to do with the occasion. We are just not good enough. When you get to this stage there are teams that are better than us."
Fleming, who was ODI skipper for ten years before announcing his retirement from the role after the match, will remain as leader of the Test team and continue to play for the limited-overs side.
Coach John Bracewell agreed with Fleming's decision and thought spinner Daniel Vettori was the natural successor, with their next match not until the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa in September.
"(Vettori) is the obvious choice from my perspective, it shows some continuity," he added.
Former captain Martin Crowe has called on Bracewell to follow Fleming and resign but the coach was staying philosophical.
"There will always be reaction to disappointment," he said.
"We as a country underappreciated the standard of cricket that the Sri Lankans can produce. They've got four or five world class cricketers who performed on the day and we didn't.
"The bottom line is we got beaten by a better side on the day. But there is unfinished business with this team."
Bracewell will await the outcome of a performance review before deciding his future.
Bracewell's current contract is due to expire and he refused to rule out talking to other countries after India's Greg Chappell, Dav Whatmore of Bangladesh and Bennett King of West Indies all resigned following their teams' exit from the World Cup.
Advertisement
Advertisement