Stephen Fleming, the former New Zealand captain, has denied that he is on the verge of retiring after rumours began circulating during the second Test against Bangladesh in Wellington.
Fleming stepped down from the one-day captaincy following the World Cup and subsequently lost the Test job to Daniel Vettori. However, he has retained his position in the Test team - hitting 87 against Bangladesh in Wellington - and was surprised to hear talk of him walking away from the international game.
"Unless it has come from [Glenn] Turner or [Richard] Hadlee or [Dion] Nash or [John Bracewell], then it's not the case," he said after the Test.
Fleming is now focussed on preparing for the visit of England, who arrive later this month for a tour that includes two Twenty20 internationals, five ODIs and three Tests. "I'm working hard on a couple of things batting-wise with that in mind. I've got three weeks now to work away at domestic level."
His 87 against Bangladesh was another example of Fleming failing to convert into three figures, something he has managed only nine times in 108 Tests. "It's the story of my career really. The plan was to put that one into the Don Neely scoreboard, the next one into the scaffolding, and a single for the hundred.
"It's a short boundary with the wind behind me and I should be able to execute that better. My execution twice was poor. I could have sat on it and just played the percentages and got there."
Whenever Fleming does decide his time is over at the top level he admits that his lack of hundreds will be a disappointment. "That's probably one of the regrets I'll have with my 43 fifties - there are a lot where I look for the positive option and just don't execute, or get carried away, get impatient."
