Captain's Corner: Stephen Fleming vs Steve Smith
Stephen Fleming’s rise in international cricket was the best thing that happened to New Zealand in this millennium. The gutsy left-hander with his determined batting piled runs at an alarming rate, dispatching bowlers to all parts of the ground. But it was his captaincy that stood out. With steel like mental strength and a shrewd decision-making, he transformed a shy and not-so-confident team into one of the most professional and tough units in international cricket. New Zealand cricket prospered and gained respect under Fleming’s captaincy.
The complete opposite of Fleming is Steve Smith. Fleming’s appearance was firm and composed, on the contrary, Smith is always on the move. But like Fleming, Smith’s rise in cricket too is tremendous. He started as a leg-spinner who could bat and seven years after his debut, has 20 Test centuries in 100 innings. What’s more intriguing is his selection as the leader of Australia.
Fleming was seen as a natural leader and had an aura about him since his debut but Smith, during his initial years, came across as an immature kid who is still learning about the game. However, after Michael Clark’s retirement, Smith was given Australia’s charge and the right-hand batsman has been outstanding so far.
The common ground between Fleming and Smith is their style of captaincy. Both men enjoying taking responsibility and constantly want to dominate the proceedings. Their aggressive approach has brought out tremendous changes to their team and both have achieved roaring success.
But what do the numbers tell about their captaincy? Who is a better captain among them? Here we look at the critical facets of their captaincy and will compare them to see who has a better record.
#4 Overall Record
The table indicates that Smith has better winning record than Fleming, but these are still early days for Smith as a captain and some of his tough Test assignments as a captain are still to come. The same can be said about Smith’s ODI record.
Also, the quality of the team must be taken into consideration while reading the stats. Fleming led a team that was a decent international unit but didn't feature many match-winners. In fact, the Australian team in Fleming's era was almost invincible and teams such as South Africa and the sub-continent sides were strong in their backyards.
Fleming, in such a situation, led his team with valour and ended with an impressive winning record.
Extra cover: Captain's Corner: Sourav Ganguly vs Stephen Fleming
Smith, on the other hand, is fortunate to lead a team which is one of the best ODI units of this era and are dominant at home.
#3 Away Record
The biggest challenge for a captain is to win matches in conditions that do not suit his side. Captaining a team in away matches is always difficult for any player as it requires tremendous planning and match awareness.
Both captains have a below par winning record in away Test matches.
Unfortunately for both the captains, the teams they led lacked a quality spin attack. Fleming had Daniel Vettori while Nathan Lyon served Smith and although both can be considered as good spinners, the lack of support from the other end hampered their chances while playing in the sub-continent. The failures in sub-continent have severely maligned Smith and Fleming's away Test records.
However, Smith has an edge over Fleming in ODI's thanks to his slightly better winning record.
#2 Performance in ICC events
The ICC events are the biggest and the most famed assignments for any captain. The success of any captain depends upon his performance in these tournaments.
Smith hasn't been part of the World Cup as a captain so far and has featured in only one ICC event, the 2017 Champions Trophy. This tournament ended horribly for Australia as they failed to win even a single match in the entire tournament.
Fleming though has a rich experience of playing in the ICC events. In his illustrated career, he led his team in 1999, 2003 and 2007 World Cups. His best achievement came in 2007 when his team reached the semi-final stage.
Smith will see a lot more ICC events in his future but currently, Fleming has a superior record.
#1 Individual performances
Great captains in the history of cricket have led their team by example. They were the top performers in their team and this inspired other players to boost their own performances.
In performances as captains, Smith is miles ahead of Fleming. The Australian captain averages above fifty in Tests and ODIs and is clearly one of the best batsmen of his era and is also the best performer in his team.
Fleming's ODI average doesn't justify his potential and the tally of seven hundreds in 208 innings is also unimpressive. In terms of individual performances, the run machine, Smith is a clear winner.