Fleming looks to end on a happy Nelson

New Zealand batsman Stephen Fleming is aiming to end his illustrious Test career with a big score against England in the third and deciding Test starting on Saturday.

New Zealand batsman Stephen Fleming is aiming to end his illustrious Test career with a big score against England in the third and deciding Test starting on Saturday.

The former New Zealand skipper, who made his debut in 1984, knows he can lift his career Test batting average to 40 if he hits 113 runs in two innings on what is expected to be a placid Napier pitch. Interestingly, Fleming would end his career on 111Tests — a Nelson figure that is considered unlucky by many in the cricket circle.

But he says he is more motivated by trying to secure New Zealand’s first home series win against England in 24 years than his personal statistics. “It’s not about me getting a badge of honour with 40 on my chest to wear for the rest of my life, I’m not that fazed,” he said in Napier. “But if I can get it up over 40 it means I’ve scored another hundred and we’ve got a score that enables us to put pressure on England.”

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The elegant left-hander will be remembered more for his astute captaincy in 80 Tests than his batting feats, considerable though they were. He has often expressed frustration — shared by New Zealand fans — that he has not been able to convert more good starts into centuries. Fleming’s 7,047 Test runs have included 44 half-centuries but he has passed 100 only nine times, and he admits he has not achieved as much with the bat as he desired.

“I often care too much. If I can play free and release the shackles… sometimes when looking back, that’s how I’m played my best innings,” he said. “But through captaincy and the responsibility, it’s not always that easy to do.

“I’ve never been able to gear myself up to be the player that achieves statistically great things,” he added, speaking on the 14th anniversary of his Test debut against India.

The 34-year-old lost the captaincy to Daniel Vettori last year after announcing he was retiring from ODIs. Fleming won’t be completely disappearing from the game after signing a lucrative Indian Premier League contract. But he plans to avoid looking back when he walks away from the Test arena for the last time in Napier. “I’m looking forward to getting into life after cricket and setting a new set of goals that become more important,” he said.