The Leading Edge
By Ian Anderson
From the Waikato Times, February 20, 1999

Dion Nash's hard-nosed attitude and allround ability has made the stand-in New Zealand cricket skipper the popular choice to keep the job when Stephen Fleming returns from injury. But he won't. Times cricket writer Ian Anderson explains why.

"(Fleming) has a lot more experience, is a quicker decision maker and much less demonstrative." - Martin Crowe

He's the most vital ingredient in the national cricket team.

Fine seam bowler, a batsman of still blossoming talent and lithe outfielder with safe hands, Dion Nash is public hero No 1 with a growing number of the game's followers.

But come the third test against the South Africans next month, Nash is likely to lose one top-dog spot he currently occupies.

When the elegant left-handed batsman Stephen Fleming returns from a groin injury which has kept him out of action since January 9, he will resume his captaincy of the Black Caps.

Convener of the three-person selection panel Ross Dykes has no hesitation when asked by the Waikato Times whether further success for Nash and the New Zealand side against the tourists before Fleming's return would prompt a rethink.

"No."

Dykes believes it would be "a huge waste to fritter away the two years of experience Fleming has as captain".

But Dykes can comfortably compile a long list of Nash's qualities which have been apparent since his return to the national side last season after a back injury which first flared during New Zealand's tour of the West Indies in 1995.

"Firstly, he's very talented in all aspects of the game. He's extremely athletic, extremely competitive and sets himself very high standards.

"His work ethic is very good. He showed a lot of character to fight back from injury and has a very good cricket brain.

"A lot of these things roll together and give him a personality that people respond to - he has that determination and desire to lead from the front."

So what's Fleming got that's better?

"He too has a very good cricketing brain," Dykes says.

"He has been learning the ropes over the past two years and has done pretty well. He's much more mature now, has the respect of his players and is very respectful of the game, which I think is important."

Dykes' views are backed by former New Zealand premier batsman and innovative captain Martin Crowe, who is adamant that Fleming must regain the leadership when fit.

"He has a lot more experience, is a quicker decision maker and much less demonstrative.

"Stephen doesn't need a lot of input into his captaincy and always likes to be thinking a couple of overs ahead of the opposition.

"Dion, though, is probably underrated as a cricket thinker - he's got street smarts.

"When he injured his back, he realised he wouldn't be a medium-fast bowler and thought it through to become a top allrounder. I saw him a lot in winter when he was working hard on his batting and it's obvious from the Indian series what a huge transformation he's made to that part of his game."

Crowe believes that with Chris Cairns out of the side to play three tests against South Africa and Adam Parore out of form with the bat, Nash should bat at No 6 - where Crowe believes he would flourish.

Batting at eight in the test series against India, Nash made his highest test score of 89 not out.

And neither Dykes nor Crowe believe the captaincy affects Nash's natural aggression.

"I think he mixes it pretty well - I haven't seen the captaincy detract from his combativeness," Dykes says.

Crowe goes a step further when he says that Nash's game probably lifts another 10 per cent with the added responsibility.

Nash's success in the captain's role for his country is brief, and has to be balanced with what Fleming has achieved.

Since the stylish but under-achieving Cantabrian batsman was injured, Nash has led (or part-led in the Taupo match where Fleming was injured during the first innings) the Black Caps in seven one-dayers. New Zealand have won three, lost three and one match was abandoned.

Fleming, in contrast, has led his side to successive home test series wins over Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and India and is now ranked behind only Geoff Howarth as the country's most successful leader of the national cricket side, with six test wins (Howarth had 11.)

Fleming is still only 25, Nash 27. And Fleming has been under intense pressure since becoming the national side's youngest captain aged 23 years and 319 days, while Nash took over at a time when a team which has slowly matured and grown in resilience was playing positive, winning cricket.

Nash has shown in his two stints as captain of the Northern conference side that he is extremely well prepared, an astute reader of the game and the opposition and a powerful motivator. But his expected debut as test captain, if Fleming has still not recovered from his groin injury in time for the first test starting on February 27, would be by far his most searching examination yet.

In Wednesday's hammering by the South Africans, Nash made a mistake when he won the toss and elected to bat with a team stacked with bowlers on a track which offered early assistance.

Dykes has the final and possibly definitive word - "We don't think one style is better than the other. We're pleased Dion's had this opportunity and he'll continue to have a big part to play for us.

"We're very fortunate now to have two players of real stature."

[Articles]