Fleming considers Zimbabwe boycott

After a season which he will want to forget, Stephen Fleming at least had the solace of ending on a high with an innings victory over Sri Lanka. But no sooner had the dust settled on the Wellington Test then he was being asked about the tour of Zimbabwe in August.

"If the information that I read suggests it's not wise to go and that will make a difference, then that's something I'll consider," Fleming told reporters, hinting that it is far from certain that he will make the trip. "Like the other players I'll be reading a lot, watching the situation closely and trying to educate myself on what impact the tour will have. The players will take a lot of care over the decision and make sure it's the right one in their mind for the right reasons."

But while the Zimbabwe tour will take centre stage in the coming weeks, yesterday Fleming was happy to dwell on a rare success. "It's a special victory about coming back from the canvas to get some perspective on the whole summer," he explained. "That was the goal of this series and it was rewarding. It was special for the young guys who have only experienced Test defeats. We were just happy to be in a commanding position and enjoying the fact we had a team under pressure for once this summer ... we'd been under the pump for so long we forget how to enjoy the game. This game we made a pact to enjoy it and that shone through today. It was a pretty flat wicket. It was a good effort to bowl them out in a day's play."

Fleming will be flying to England to join Nottinghamshire in the next few days.