KEY POINTS:
Former Black Caps captain Stephen Fleming has ended speculation and confirmed he is retiring from the New Zealand team to play for the Indian Premier League.
At Eden Park this afternoon, Fleming said losing the test-side captaincy four months ago fuelled the decision and he earmarked the end of the test series against England as his final appearance for New Zealand.
His final game will be the third test in Napier, which begins on March 22.
"Cricket has been my life, it's been incredibly good to me," he told reporters.
He said hoped to be remembered as a thinker in the game: "I really enjoyed thinking about the game, I got more enjoyment out of my captaincy than my batting."
Fleming said New Zealand as a side often had to outsmart their opposition because they could not rely on raw talent alone.
"We had to know the opposition almost better than ourselves and it meant we were able to punch above our weight."
Fleming said he had always indicated he was likely to retire from international cricket at some point in the near future and the time was right for him and his family now.
"Retiring before the tour to England will allow me to be with (wife) Kelly for the birth of our second child and I'm excited about pursuing new business opportunities," he said.
"A key business opportunity I will be pursuing is the establishment of a marketing media and sports management business here in New Zealand.
"I will also be taking up the option of playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL)."
Fleming said there might also be a role for him with the Wellington side.
But he told reporters: "I've still got a job to do with the three tests against England."
He said he had hoped to be able to experience a shared-captaincy with Daniel Vettori - with Vettori captaining the one-day side and Fleming holding on to the captaincy of the test-side - and the lost opportunity was a disappointment.
But Fleming said his biggest regret during his career was not having more test centuries to his name and he hoped to add to his total in the upcoming test series.
"I'd love to get three or four test hundreds - that would be a dream."
He said it wouldn't be easy with English test cricket strong under the leadership of Michael Vaughan.
New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan paid tribute to Fleming, describing him as a great captain and player.
"Stephen's leadership qualities had a tremendous impact on the team and he will be missed.
"He has made a huge contribution to cricket in New Zealand and I sincerely wish him all the best."
Current captain Daniel Vettori was the first to break news of Fleming's retirement, letting it slip at a media conference held about half an hour in advance of Fleming's own.
He said Fleming would be remembered as one of New Zealand's greatest test players.
Vettori said said Fleming had been an inspiration in his professional career as well as a friend.
He said Fleming had coached him as a young international spinner and "had a fair idea what I wanted to do and he let me go".
Vettori met Fleming in his late teens and said - while he didn't want to "steal Fleming's thunder" ahead of his media conference - it would be sad to see him go.
Fleming, New Zealand's most experienced test cricketer and prolific run scorer, had been rumoured to be preparing to call time on his 14-year tenure at the heart of the Black Caps after the third test against England in Napier from March 22.
He retired from the one-day version of the game after the World Cup in Jamaica in April last year.
Fleming has played 280 one-day internationals since making his debut in 1994, and has been captain on 218 occasions since 1997.
He lost the test captaincy in September last year after a record reign of 10 years, the selectors handing the responsibility to Daniel Vettori, who had already assumed control of the New Zealand one-day and Twenty20 outfits.
* Stephen Fleming is joining the sanctioned Indian Premier League not the rebel Indian Cricket League as nzherald.co.nz originally incorrectly reported.
- With NZPA
Stephen Fleming statistics
Test career for New Zealand
Matches: 108
Innings: 183
Not-outs: 10
Runs: 6875
Highest Score: 274 not-out
Average: 39.73
Centuries: 9
Half-centuries: 43
Strike Rate: 45.38
Catches: 166
One Day International
Matches: 280
Innings: 269
Not-outs: 21
Runs: 8037
Highest Score: 134 not-out
Average: 32.40
Centuries: 8
Half-centuries: 49
Strike Rate: 71.49
Catches: 133
*SOURCE: cricketarchive.com
