Fleming keen to coach NZ T20 team
Stephen Fleming says he’s keen on coaching the Black Caps Twenty20 team.
Speaking on Trackside Radio yesterday, the former New Zealand captain said he would love to get involved with the Black Caps again.
Fleming coaches the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League and Melbourne Stars in the Australian Big Bash, so has become a master at this form of the game.
He would now like to put that knowledge he’s amassed to help out the New Zealand T20 side.
Former Black Cap turned commentator Simon Doull recently brought up the issue as to whether there should be a separate coach for the New Zealand T20 team as the demands of international cricket increase.
Asked if he’d be interested if that was the way New Zealand Cricket decided to go, to ease the burden on Mike Hesson, Fleming said he would and felt Daniel Vettori would also be keen.
‘‘I would and it’s based on my passion and love for New Zealand cricket,’’ Fleming said.
‘‘At some stage there will hopefully be an opportunity to contribute some of that IP.
‘‘I’ve got a very good relationship with Craig McMillan [Black Caps batting coach] and spend a lot of time talking to him about where the game is going and what he sees.
‘‘So I enjoy passing on that knowledge and it comes back to wanting the New Zealand team to be strong.
‘‘I enjoy going away and having a strong New Zealand team performing well around the world, it helps my job and I enjoy getting the New Zealand players in the sides that I’ve got.
‘‘At some stage, who knows, and I think Daniel would be the same. I’d love to help, but I certainly appreciate and admire the work Mike has done.’’
England have been on tour Down Under since the beginning of November, playing tests, ODIs and T20 games. The tour doesn’t finish until April 3, but the only person who is with the team the entire time is England coach Trevor Bayliss.
‘‘To have one voice throughout is valuable,’’ Fleming said.
‘‘If you can have consistently in your management and leaders all of the way through, then that’s a bonus. One of my concerns would be the workload on Mike Hesson.
‘‘When you look at these 12 months and a bit more going forward, we don’t know what’s going to happen with the next future tours programme that comes out.
‘‘But you’ve got to think for a modern day coach these days, to be spending 250-300 days away, or involved in the job, travelling and hotels and being away from the family, that’s unsustainable.
‘‘So Simon makes some good points there about looking after your coaches and maybe T20 is one form of the game where there’s an opportunity for the head coach to have some time off.
‘‘Whether you develop a Craig McMillan or another young coach coming forward, or you get an old dog in and maybe Vettori or myself come in to spend a bit of time there?
‘‘It’s whether it keeps Mike Hesson fresh, it’s whether it falls into line with what Mike wants.
‘‘What I’ve heard from NZ Cricket and Mike right now is that the balance is pretty good, so he’s pretty happy to continue what he’s doing. But it needs to be explored.
‘‘If you’re bouncing from each form, sometimes you can miss the subtleties of the game that are developing behind closed doors, because you’re so focused on a test or one-day series.
‘‘We’ve got to make sure we’re relevant in all forms and have got the selectors, coaches and personnel looking at the right things.
‘‘So that when the T20s or onedayers come around, we can slot into that mode very easily and very quickly.’’