GEORGETOWN: The 2007 World Cup may be decided by the decisions of one man. The team captain. New Zealand's Stephen Fleming takes some beating.

In his fourth World Cup and third as captain, `Flem' is leading a meticulously prepared squad of players after an 18-month long program of preparation to bring the trophy home to New Zealand for the first time.

The 34-year-old regularly tops polls as the most popular person back home but he also has one of the finest cricketing brains in the world.

`Mana'

Coach John Bracewell summed it up last week when he described Fleming as having "Mana," a word used by New Zealand's indigenous Maori people that can be translated as "respect" but also has more emotional connotations of friendship. Several of the team have Maori blood.

Of the major cricket nations, New Zealand probably has the smallest stock of players to call on. But Fleming has taken this disadvantage and exploited it, developing a squad of multi-talented all-rounders who bat down to number nine, as James Franklin showed on Monday when he joined in a partnership of 71 to take the match beyond Ireland.

A quietly-spoken captain, Fleming leads without shouting or dramatic gestures, but is precise in his demands on players. On Monday, he spent a minute or so directing a fielder to the exact place on the boundary he wanted him to stand.

"The strong leaders are the ones more prepared and more resourceful," Fleming said in a biography of him written two years ago. Fleming has formed a "management team" consisting mainly, but not only, of senior players like Daniel Vettori and Shane Bond. Both are regularly consulted on the field.

Loose ship

Fleming and Bracewell run a deliberately loose ship on tour. Players are encouraged to do their own thing in their frequent down time but when it comes to match days, he is as tough as nails. Players know their roles down to the finest details.

Fleming is comfortably New Zealand's most successful captain, having made his debut 13 years ago.

As a batsman he averages around 40 in Tests, a little less than his talent promises. An elegant left-hander, Fleming loves to pick the ball off his toes and sweep it to the leg side boundary. A tall man, he drives with ease but has been known to give his wicket away a little too easily.

Growing talent

Fleming was a growing talent in Christchurch when New Zealand played its most famous World Cup match, a semifinal with Pakistan in Auckland in 1992 that was narrowly lost, mainly because of a lightning innings from a young Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Now, he feels the team's preparation is so good that a semifinal spot will simply be the launch pad for a place in the final in Barbados later this month and a place in history. It is widely believed that Fleming, who captains Nottinghamshire in England, would step down as captain if his team won the World Cup.

— AP

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