Stephen Fleming was one of the best cricket captains from New Zealand. Most notable cricket captains like Graeme Smith and Shane Warne, admired his leadership. His most successful captaincy record was in ICC Champions Trophy 2002, where he led his team into the final to have a shared trophy with Sri Lanka. This was the first-ever New Zealand ICC Trophy in ODI cricket. He is also the third longest-serving captain in cricket history after Ricky Ponting and MS Dhoni.
All this success came due to his tactical abilities to help New Zealand perform in a better way.
The Chappell Hadlee series was the most successful one for him as New Zealand won this series for the first time since its inception. Indeed, his disciplined, calm, and dedicated nature toward cricket made him one of the best captains in New Zealand.
| Captaincy Period | 1997-2007 |
| Previous Captain | Geoff Howarth |
| Next Captain | Daniel Vettori |
| Key Achievement | Winner of ICC Knockout 2000, Shared Winner of ICC Champions Trophy 2002 |
All Formats Captaincy Record
He led New Zealand in 303 matches in all forms, winning 128 and losing 135 with a win rate of 42. Because T20I cricket was still beginning and New Zealand management attempted a young skipper, most of his matches were Test and ODI. Another positive is that his win-loss ratio as a captain increased, showing his ability to lead.
| Matches | Won | Win % | Lost | Draw | Tied | NR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 303 | 128 | 42 | 132 | 25 | 02 | 13 |
Stephen Fleming Test Captaincy Record
In Test Cricket, Stephen Fleming led New Zealand in 80 matches, winning 28 and losing 27 with a win rate of 34. His most wins came in the later part of his captaincy after 2000 winning 18 out of 56 test matches. Even though he didn’t have a great winning percentage, his leadership made New Zealand’s squad one of the finest in its period.
| Matches | Won | Win % | Lost | Draw | Tied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 28 | 34 | 27 | 25 | 0 |
Test Series Won by New Zealand under Fleming Captaincy
New Zealand played 34 test series under the leadership of Stephen Fleming, winning 12 and losing 12 series, while 09 series ended in a draw. He won a series against almost all test-playing nations in India, Pakistan, Australia, England, and South Africa. The majority of success came against Australia, which was a remarkable achievement because beating Australia under Ricky Ponting’s captaincy was quite a difficult task. Stephen Fleming Fulfilled this task very efficiently.
Stephen Fleming ODI Captaincy Record
In ODI cricket, Stephen Fleming led New Zealand team in 218 matches, winning 98 and losing 106 matches with a win rate of 44. He remained most successful against England with a win-to-loss ratio of 02, winning 08 out of 12 ODI matches. His least successful captaincy stint was against Australia, losing 30 out of 42 matches.
| Matches | Won | Win % | Lost | Draw | NR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 218 | 98 | 44 | 106 | 01 | 13 |
His win percentage in ODI makes him one of the best captains of New Zealand in ODI cricket after Kane Williamson and Daniel Vettori.
ODI Series Won by Stephen Fleming for New Zealand
He led New Zealand in 28 bilateral ODI series, winning 11 and losing 11, while 06 ODI series were drawn. All of his series wins came at the home venue, while he never won any series outside New Zealand.
Stephen Fleming Captaincy Record in T20I
Stephen Fleming led New Zealand team in 05 t20 matches, winning 02 and losing 02. Only one match was tied in his short captaincy career.
| Matches | Won | Win % | Lost | Tied |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05 | 05 | 40 | 02 | 01 |
Stephen Captaincy Record Home and Away
Stephen Fleming remained most successful at home venue, winning overall 64 matches out of 123 played in New Zealand. His Home win percentage is 64, which is excellent compared to away, which is 28. Kane Williamson’s captaincy record shows that he is near to Stephen Fleming in terms of home and away records.
Stephen Fleming Captaincy Record in Tournaments
Stephen Fleming led New Zealand team in 07 ICC tournaments from 1999 to 2007. He won 02 tournaments for New Zealand. The first victory came in the ICC Knock Out stage played in Kenya, where the New Zealand team won all the matches with a victory in the tournament. The second victory came in ICC Champions Trophy held in Sri Lanka in 2002. Sri Lanka and New Zealand jointly shared this trophy. This was the time when Stephen Fleming strengthened his position as a captain of New Zealand.
| Tournaments | Matches | Won | Lost | Tied/NR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICC World Cup 1999 | 09 | 04 | 04 | 01 |
| ICC World Cup 2003 | 08 | 05 | 03 | 0 |
| ICC World Cup 2007 | 10 | 07 | 03 | `0 |
| Champions Trophy 2002 | 02 | 01 | 01 | 0 |
| Champions Trophy 2004 | 02 | 01 | 01 | 0 |
| Champions Trophy 2006 | 04 | 02 | 02 |
New Zealand continued his superb performance in the coming years. They performed very well in ODI World Cup 2007 under Fleming’s captaincy losing only 03 out of 10 matches.
