Former New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming is available for providing Twenty20 coaching expertise to his national team even if its just a friendly voice.
Meanwhile, new coach Gary Stead indicated of bringing additional T20 coaching firepower to offer valuable insight. Former New Zealand standouts Fleming, Shane Bond, and Daniel Vettori can be standout options.
Stephen Fleming, who has an eye-catching CV said he had talked informally with Stead. Furthermore, he also didn’t rule out anything. Fleming has coached the Melbourne Stars and this year’s Indian Premier League champions the Chennai Super Kings.
“My offer is open and it doesn’t have to be a formal role,” Fleming said. “It’s more on passing on IP [intellectual property] that I’ve picked up through tournaments … I would like to think there’s a number of voices Gary could turn to if the team needed or wanted that help,” he added.
Stephen Fleming’s T20 coaching commitments in Australia and India could make it challenging to commit long-term to a T20 coaching position with the Black Caps. Whether schedules aligned and he offered what Stead and New Zealand were looking for in their T20 environment would be critical.
“It depends on when and what it looked like. We play so few T20s. It would have been worth it. If it’s one or two games, you’re better off boxing on as it is,” Fleming adds.
Stephen Fleming lauds New Zealand’s coach
Fleming and Stead played in a dominant Canterbury domestic team for many years. He praised Stead’s appointment and lauded his gritty and tenacious attitude.
“He was a great guy to play with and a very good team-mate,” Fleming said. “The relationship between [captain] Kane [Williamson] and Gary is the most important one to develop and if they get on pretty well, hopefully, they’ll take the team even further forward,” Stephen Fleming concluded.