KEY POINTS:
Stephen Fleming's worst fears for the future of New Zealand cricket materialised even before his international swansong got under way at McLean Park today.
The former New Zealand captain, who ends his test career with his 111th cap in the third test against England, had barely spoken about New Zealand's thin depth before Kyle Mills and Jacob Oram were ruled out.
Fleming said his greatest concern after his retirement was the effect of injury on a small core of key players.
"I'm nervous about the amount of resource we're losing, we've always been challenged by the resources we've got,' said Fleming, who was often forced to lead a test side minus injury-plagued strike bowler Shane Bond.
"I worry if we do lose a couple of injuries in this test ... going forward to England (next month) we just haven't got the players with the experience and skills to step up."
The injuries to Oram (hip) and Mills (calf) should not prevent them participating in the inaugural Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition in mid-April let alone the test component of the English tour in May-June.
But as Fleming noted, the loss of his vast experience has been compounded by the absence of Bond, the retirement of Scott Styris from test cricket plus the relatively recent losses of Craig McMillan and Nathan Astle.
Lump in the contingent recently lured to Indian Cricket League (ICL), including Andre Adams and Lou Vincent, and the cupboard is even barer - although Fleming admitted it was an opportunity for a new breed to come through.
"There's a good group of players that are just simmering and some will take opportunities, as the cliche goes," he said.
"Tim Southee is a name that's been coming up .... even the guys within the side are still finding their feet."
Southee joined those ranks yesterday as a replacement for Mills while 29-year-old South African Grant Elliott was named to fill Oram's allrounder role.
While some gloss has been taken off his farewell with Mills and Oram absent, Fleming was optimistic New Zealand Cricket were on the right track in regard to developing talent - and most importantly protect existing talent from the rebel ICL.
"The Indian competitions in general do have the potential to rip New Zealand cricket apart but NZC and the Players' Association are working hard to minimise that," said Fleming, who is among seven players aligned to the sanctioned Indian Premier League (IPL).
Ross Taylor and Mills were picked up in the second IPL auction while five players that missed out are on retainers.
"You can't stop players if they want to go - you saw that with Lou Vincent - but I know NZC are exploring ways of making it attractive for players to stay."
Meanwhile, Fleming reiterated he was comfortable with today's test marking the end of 14 years as a cornerstone of the New Zealand batting line-up.
And although unhappy to have been relieved of the test captaincy after 80 matches in charge, Fleming was confident he was leaving the reins in capable hands.
"I think Daniel's (Vettori) doing a great job," he said.
"There was no doubt he was going to. He's such an experienced player already and he's got a group of guys that respect him.
"He's got control of this side and he's done some things I wouldn't have that worked.
"I think he's ready to move on and quite rightly so. I'd imagine the way he's gone about it - he's stamped his authority on the side and I'd expect nothing less from him."
- NZPA
