Cricket: Snedden denies Fleming, Bracewell 'rift' reports

By MARK GEENTY

DURHAM - New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden has dismissed suggestions of tension between the national team's coach and captain after making a special trip to check all was well in the squad.

Snedden was satisfied the team had moved on from the low of the 3-0 test series loss to England and that John Bracewell and Stephen Fleming were a happy coach-captain duo.

In England for a week of International Cricket Council meetings, Snedden arrived early to ease his mind on the state of the team, and spent three days with them in Manchester and Birmingham.

He described suggestions of a Bracewell-Fleming rift, made on television and in print by former England captain Michael Atherton, as "rubbish" and "mischief-making".

"I think Atherton has got absolutely no basis whatsoever for those comments," said Snedden.

"I've spent a lot of time concentrating on that issue while I've been here just to satisfy myself that there is nothing happening that I didn't know about.

"I've inquired carefully around the team as well as talking pretty strongly to John and Stephen individually about it, and I don't think there's the slightest indication of that at all.

"They've got an excellent working relationship. They complement each other really well.

"John is only six months into his first international assignment, so he's going to reflect on this afterwards and I'm sure he'll take some lessons out of it, as will all of us."

Snedden is in the midst of an inquiry into what went wrong in the test series, which the side were confident of winning.

He would continue to seek answers in the tour review with manager Lindsay Crocker when they arrive home in mid-July.

"Everyone's pretty disappointed about the test results. We've got a good team and they just simply didn't play up to the standard they should have.

"They're very determined now to salvage something out of the tour by playing well in the one-day series.

"There's bits and pieces we can learn," said Sneddon.

"We have been reflecting over the last few days on the whole thing and trying to identify some of the things we may have made mistakes with.

"The biggest thing was the guys didn't take the opportunities they created."

Snedden stood by the decision to send a squad of 14 players and six management despite the injury crisis that hit before and during the third test.

He said they had ample standby batsmen and bowlers playing league cricket in England, and his only regret was not having a backup spinner among them, either Bruce Martin or Paul Wiseman, for when Daniel Vettori tore his hamstring.

He rated the absence of Shane Bond and Ian Butler to injury as the biggest handicap.

"Had we had Bond and Butler fit, it would have put us in a lot better position.

"If we can get those two on the field most of the time it'll make a big difference to the way we perform in test cricket."

- NZPA