Fleming marks latest career stage with emphatic innings

Stephen Fleming has always had an appetite for runs but too often he tended towards the medium-rare in his taste.

There had always been an unfulfilled aspect to Fleming's batting before this season. It was as frustrating for him as it was for those cricket fans in New Zealand who knew that he was capable of far more.

It may be that the demands made of him captaining the New Zealand side from such a young age (23) took its toll but there can be no doubt after he joined the ranks of double century makers for the country today that the maturity which two summers ago saw him demand a greater say in the running of the side has now been reflected in his batting.

His taste for runs has switched to the well-done. He's tougher mentally and his wicket is much harder to claim.

The changes were obvious to the cricket world during his outstanding century at the World Cup against South Africa when he single-handedly rocked the vaunted home attack with a quality of assault that had New Zealand well in front of the required run-rate demanded by the Duckworth/Lewis system before the rain started to fall.

There had been signs, albeit fleeting, in the pitch-dominated home series against India, both Tests and One-Day Internationals, that there was a more accurate air about Fleming's choice of shots. He had regained the precision and elegance that promised so much during his earliest days in international cricket.

He said he had been working hard over the winter, and there is no doubt that his winter with Middlesex in 2001 was also a significant factor in the changed approach at the crease.

His effort over the last two days in Sri Lanka has been significant in more than one way.

Initially, it was a responsibility demanded through the absence of Nathan Astle, Craig McMillan and Chris Cairns. Fleming said it was up to the senior players in the side to cover for their absence, and there was no-one more senior than himself.

Having achieved Test centuries more regularly of late, he had rid himself of the record as the worst converter of half-centuries to centuries among those Test batsmen around the world who had scored more than 2000 runs, and he is now at a stage in his career where at last the small matter of improving his Test average can be addressed with some comfort.

Given the continuity of his leadership, and his slip catching, Fleming was always going to leave his mark on New Zealand cricket history. His record of 111 catches to date makes him the country's most successful bagger of catches with the closest person being Martin Crowe on 71, and he is easily the captain who has collected the most winners' cheques on behalf of the side.

He's also creeping up the list of New Zealand's run scorers in Tests with only Crowe (5444) and John Wright (5334) in front of him.

Given the impact he has made on the history of the New Zealand game, it would have been less than he was capable of if, by the time he entertained thoughts of retirement, he was not holder of the record for most runs by a New Zealander to go alongside most wins as captain and most catches.

Such has been Fleming's catching record that he could be on track to claim the world record from Mark Waugh who ended his career with 181 catches.

However, for the moment, it is sufficient to say that his unbeaten 274 in Colombo's heat is his greatest statement yet of what he wants to achieve in the remainder of his career.

It was a testament to his powers of concentration and, even more importantly, determination.

His was the eleventh occasion a New Zealander had scored a double century in a Test. It was the fourth occasion since the summer of 1999/00 that a double century had been scored by a New Zealander.

It was Fleming's highest score in Test and first-class cricket and it has provided New Zealand with the chance to push on and claim a victory over the remaining three days of the match.

New Zealand's double century makers are: Martin Crowe 299 v Sri Lanka at Wellington, 1990/91; Stephen Fleming 274 not out v Sri Lanka at Colombo, 2003; Bryan Young 267 not out v Sri Lanka at Dunedin, 1996/97; Glenn Turner 259 v West Indies at Georgetown 1971/72; Graham Dowling 239 v India at Christchurch, 1967/68; Bert Sutcliffe 230 not out v India at Delhi, 1955/56; Glenn Turner 223 not out v West Indies at Kingston, 1971/72; Nathan Astle 222 v England at Christchurch, 2001/02; Mathew Sinclair 214 v West Indies at Wellington, 1999/00; Martin Donnelly 206 v England at Lord's, 1949; Mathew Sinclair 204 not out v Pakistan at Christchurch, 2000/01.