Fleming believes Black Caps have turned corner by Cricket Archive Staff Reporter

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Scorecard:	England v New Zealand
Player:	SP Fleming, SB Styris, JDP Oram, KD Mills, AC Parore, AR Adams, JEC Franklin
Event:	Commonwealth Bank Series 2006/07

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DateLine: 25th January 2007

 

Buoyed by his side's first win of the triangular one-day series, New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming believes his team is poised to build momentum as the World Cup approaches. Their 90-run win over England on Tuesday ended a run of four straight one-day international losses for the Black Caps. Their recent indifferent form has seen the Kiwis criticised for their rotational policy in one-day games and while Fleming conceded his team's results had been disappointing, he said the focus was on laying the foundation for a successful World Cup campaign. "We've been doing a lot of good things off the field, but it has been worth nothing because our performances have let all that down," he said in Adelaide on Tuesday. "It has been pretty frustrating for all the people at home because we have played a pretty poor brand of cricket. But if we can get a bit of confidence into it - you've got the likes of (Scott) Styris, Jacob coming back in and performing the way he did, Kyle Mills coming back and the guys that have been competing over here - then we are not in bad shape." Fleming, whose captaincy was also criticised by former teammate Adam Parore, said he believed the win over England, with powerful all-rounder Jacob Oram returning from injury with a man-of-the-match performance, showed the Black Caps were on the right track. "We are hoping to get a couple more wins and then get a little bit of momentum towards the end of this tournament," he said. "It would be great to make the finals of this tournament and then we have another tough series with Australia at home. Then when you hit the World Cup you are pretty sure you have covered all your bases and that has really been our plan over the last six months." Fleming said New Zealand's top order frailty was still a concern and the skipper admitted he was one of the main culprits, his 20 against England continuing his dry run in Australia. With Oram and Mills joining the squad in Australia, and Styris also expected to do so, the Black Caps have sent 31-year-old all-rounder Andre Adams home without playing a game in the tri-series. New Zealand general manager Lindsay Crocker said Adams was sent home to get some match practice. "Because Andre offers similar skills as Jacob, Kyle and James Franklin he was going to struggle to get game time," Crocker said. "This way he can get home and play some cricket and remain in contention for the World Cup in the West Indies in March and April."