Mark Richardson: A case of deja vu could haunt Fleming's troops

The last time the Black Caps played a series against South Africa in Africa was a frustrating time for Stephen Fleming and he may be recalling the nightmares now. The 2000 tour was a four-month roller-coaster ride of highs and lows, with the lows a consequence of an uncanny run of player injuries.

Fleming had been building up a tidy record as New Zealand captain but must have felt helpless as the positive side of his ledger disappeared about as fast as his injured players.

Now, five years on, another injury cloud hangs over the Black Caps and must be sending a shiver down Fleming's spine.

In 2000 the tour of Africa began in Zimbabwe with a team that read: Matt Horne, your columnist, Mathew Sinclair, Fleming, Nathan Astle, Craig McMillan, Chris Cairns, Adam Parore, Daniel Vettori, Paul Wiseman, Shayne O'Connor and 12th man Dion Nash. It was full strength and experienced. One-day specialists Roger Twose, Chris Harris and Geoff Allot joined the squad which went on to make history, winning the ICC knockout tournament in Kenya.

With spirits high, the team went on to South Africa but a couple of months later the following players hobbled on to the Wanderers ground in Johannesburg trying to avoid a clean sweep of losses for the South African part of the tour: Parore, Richardson, Sinclair, Fleming, Astle, McMillan, Hamish Marshall, Brooke Walker, Daryl Tuffey, O'Connor, Chris Martin, 12th man Kerry Walmsley.

While some of these names have come to prominence in recent years, at this stage they were real rookies. The bowling had to be carried by O'Connor. He had bowled so many overs by this stage that his pace was well down and he might as well have tried his hand at left-arm spin to replace the injured Vettori, who departed the tour after the first game in Zimbabwe.

Hopes of climbing one of New Zealand's last cricketing mountains were shot when Fleming couldn't call on the bowling he needed.

Five years on, the Black Caps again have high expectations of a limited-overs team that has again built up an impressive record over recent years.

The loss in the first ODI has lead to a slide in the ICC ODI rankings already. It was an unnecessary loss which could have been avoided had Fleming had the bowling services of Oram and Styris.

Oram is our only true allrounder capable of making the team with bat or ball - preferably both for the purpose of balance. Oram and Vettori are our most reliable one-day bowlers. Styris is more a batting option and can stabilise the middle order but his bowling is more than handy in ODIs - in fact it is a must, as he showed yesterday.

Both these players have developed niggles on what will be a highly competitive tour and Fleming simply can't afford to see them on the sideline or misfiring.

Perhaps in Fleming's favour is that the tour is more like four weeks than four months and, unlike five years ago, he can replace experience with experience.

It just might mean we have to go without a certain brand of fudge for a few weeks.