Fleming feels NZ has a point to prove

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said his team did not receive any kudos for their 1999 series-win in England and he hoped the tourists had more respect going into Wednesday's first Test in Christchurch.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday morning,

"We have a massive point to prove to England," Fleming said. "In 1999 we beat them 2-1 over there and all we heard about was that it was the lowest ebb in English cricket. That was a slight against us, pure and simple.

"From my point of view it is imperative that we win this series. We've all been looking forward to it and I thing we're really up for it."

Fleming's attitude to the England tour of 1999 echoes sentiments made the day earlier by all-rounder Chris Cairns.

Cairns, vying to achieve the all-rounder's hallmark of 200 Test wickets, having long ago achieved the 2000-run plateau, said New Zealand were well organised in 1999, but were "treated with disregard".

"They chopped and changed their team and didn't even have a coach when we were there," Cairns said. "They didn't expect us to turn the series around after losing at Edgbaston and their attitude just made us work harder and we ended up taking the series and it was a sweet win."

Fleming said on Tuesday that what made New Zealand's series in Australia so successful was being able to execute plans.

Saying that he had a number of plans worked out for the England players, Fleming said: "You can have all the plans in the world, but executing them is the key. If we get the chance for some plans to work, we will be very happy."

NERVOUSLY CONFIDENT

Fleming said he was "nervously confident" and added that he could not wait for the Test to start.

On the portable pitch, Fleming said it was an unknown quantity.

"I don't honestly know what we'll do if we win the toss. You get a gut feeling about the appearance of the pitch on the day.

"Whatever we're doing, we've got to make sure we do it well. The first hour or so tomorrow will tell us the story of the pitch."

Fleming admitted that by having a portable pitch, the home advantage was compromised, but said it was the way forward with much of New Zealand's cricket being played in rugby stadiums.

"We have no choice," he said. "They played a Super 12 match here on Saturday and there'll be a few played at Eden Park [Auckland] before we get there for the third test.

"This is modern sport and the more portable pitches we use, the better we'll get at producing them."

Told that Cairns hoped to bowl with the new ball downwind, as opposed to his often preferred role as first change, Fleming was not surprised.

"When you have a player of that class wanting to do something, you give him free rein to do so," he said.

Mail Cricket Editor