If his current demeanour is any guide, fatherhood seems to agree with Stephen Fleming. The man who gave the New Zealand record books another major shake-up last week has been many things to many people over the years but seldom has he been as relaxed as he has been on
this present tour of South Africa.
After a dozen years at the top, the New Zealand captain appears to have reached a stage when he is finally at peace with himself as a player, something that seemed a long way off as recently as last season, when he struggled against the Australians.
If anything has underlined his stress-free mindset in the Republic, it was his epic innings of 262 during the second test at Newlands, when he looked composed and unflappable throughout, almost as if he was on autopilot. It was the most noticeable aspect of the performance; the systematic way in which he went about his work, the impassive control he held for all but the entire nine-and-a-half-hours and his apparent nonchalance as he kicked on from the first hundred.
There were a couple of exceptions that almost made the innings human. He began playing anxiously as he approached the 100-mark (understandably perhaps, after failing to convert so many 50s) and he gave a straightforward slip chance when he was on 136.
Apart from that, his knock contained all the inevitability of lounge music. There was nothing to jar the senses, nothing to bring patrons to their feet, nothing to encourage the efforts of the South African bowlers. It just went on and on.
The good news is that he's now feeling the same way about his career, which many believed was probably coming to a close in the near future, possibly even at the end of the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies. However, it was about the time of his 100th test appearance that Fleming revealed his hopes of playing for another four years, which would carry him through to his 37th birthday and, more importantly, the start of school for three-and-a-half-month-old Tayla.
The way he sees it, his fitness shouldn't prove an obstacle because as a batsman, his body is capable of coping with the wear and tear, and as a fieldsmen, he's not overly taxed by standing at first slip and short extra cover.
He's never really been a great one for statistics. But when it comes to his personal contribution and the stamp he leaves on New Zealand cricket, he's recently discovered another side to the issue.
Leaving the game with a test average above 40 has suddenly become important.
For someone with such ability, experience and (now) confidence, he realises that anything short of that would be underselling his capabilities and leaving himself with the hollow feeling of having never reached his potential. So you can imagine his satisfaction last week when his marvellous double century catapulted his average from 38.75 to 40.13, which immediately promoted him from the category of a good international batsman, into that of the exceptional.
"That's it. That's it," he laughed after the second test. "Time to call it quits. That's why I didn't bat in the second dig.
"I've always felt I had a lot more in the tank. I guess I've got an issue; I get very nervous at trying to convert because I know I'm well behind on that ledger. But once I get past that, I feel very comfortable.
"I must say that at Newlands I felt pretty relaxed for one of the first times in my career. For once, I took a lot from that innings and I'm now hoping to build on it. You always aim for more.
"I am enjoying my cricket. I am looking forward to going to Nottingham and enjoying a successful stint there, and I'm also looking forward to next year, the tri-series and World Cup."
Now the only New Zealand test batsman to have scored three double-centuries, Fleming is forcing cricket fans to reconsider his place in the scheme of things. He's the country's leading run-scorer, he's easily the best batsman of the present crop and five of his nine centuries have been in excess of 150.
He's also starting to make waves as one of the world's best batsmen, having recently jumped 10 places to 14th on the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) batting rankings, his highest since taking over the test captaincy in 1997.
"I'd love to eclipse Martin Crowe's record number of centuries [17] but I'm not really sure where I'd like to end up. I'm not a massive goal-setter but I'm very encouraged where my batting's going right now. I've had certain stages where I've felt like this previously but I just want to do as well as I can from here and maintain the form I've been showing."
If he does continue for another four years, there's the possibility of about 30 more tests, maybe 45-50 innings, and the chance to boost his aggregate towards 8000-plus runs and his century count into the region of 15-18.
On present form at least, it would be hard not to rate him alongside Glenn Turner and Crowe as one of New Zealand's best three batsmen of the modern era. But should he continue on in his record-breaking style for as long as he's intending, he could easily end up in a category of his own.
And that sounds like a far better time to call it quits.
Foremost Fielder
Slips specialist Fleming has taken 152 catches in 101 tests and he could overtake Mark Waugh (Australia) as the most prolific fieldsman if he plays another 20 tests or so in the next four years.
World record catches in tests:
(*current player)
181 Mark Waugh (Australia)
157 Mark Taylor (Australia)
156 Allan Border (Australia)
152 Stephen Fleming* (NZ)
148 Brian Lara* (West Indies)
138 Rahul Dravid* (India)
122 Greg Chappell (Australia)
122 Vivan Richards (West Indies)
120 Ian Botham (England)
120 Colin Cowdrey (England)
120 Ricky Ponting* (Australia)
If his current demeanour is any guide, fatherhood seems to agree with Stephen Fleming. The man who gave the New Zealand record books another major shake-up last week has been many things to many people over the years but seldom has he been as relaxed as he has been on
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