 Fleming held on to his captaincy for too long: Waugh
30th Nov 2007 19:01 IST
Agencies
The selectors disagreed and Daniel Vettori led an injury-hit test side. Fleming's successor has received a brutal introduction in South Africa, losing the two Tests with huge margin.
Waugh said the lessons Vettori learned in the two Tests would help him as a captain, as the one-day side arrive in Australia next week for three Chappell-Hadlee matches starting in Adelaide on December 14.
He must be knowing a thing or two about captaincy as he led the Aussies in 16 consecutive Test match wins. His winning caravan was abruptly stopped at the Eden Garden, with Indian batting star VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid playing the innings of their life.
"He'll look back on South Africa and say it's a period where he really got to know himself better, and got to know how he captained the side. As a captain you've got to follow your gut instincts and that's one thing he'll learn as he goes along, that you can't captain by consensus. You've got to be strong in your beliefs and sometimes you've got to have a bit of pain before you get the results. Maybe that's what he's going through now."
Meanwhile, Waugh moved to allay fears of a one-sided Chappell-Hadlee series.
"New Zealand have always been a good one-day side, they always turn up and they're very competitive with a lot of all-rounders. It's never an easy game and it's always competitive. They've had a good recent record against Australia."
"There's obviously a bit of turmoil at the moment after South Africa. This is an important series for New Zealand cricket to get back on track," Waugh said. |
