"Dennis Lillee was my idol. My first game I went to he broke Lance Gibbs test record at the mCG. That what inspired me to play cricket for Australia"

In the last dozen years there is no doubt about the fact that Australia have been by far the best team in the world. Their team has been blessed with players like Warne, Steve Waugh, Mcgrath, Ponting and Gilchrist who have fulfilled their talents and have made AUS not only the best of this era but also one of the best teams to ever play the game. While talking about these greats of the games it is its sometimes easy to forget other players who may have not been as succesful but certainly played a part in propelling the Australian team to such greatness.

One of these really fine Aussie cricketers was D Fleming, a very fine new ball bowler in his own right. Due to the strength of the Aussie team and injuries Damien only got to play 20 test matches but his performance in those 20 games was extremely good and would have certainly played a lot more games had he born in another country. Damien also played 88 ODIs for AUS where once again his performance was outstanding, he also bowled that famous last over in the 1999 World cup semi final

Damien was kind enough to do an interview with Pakpassion where he answers all the questions from his debut test match in Pakistan to the latest trends in world cricket.Would also like to thank Noddy bhai for arranging this interview.

PakPassion.Net: Who was the best batsmen, bowler that you played against?

Damien Fleming: Tendulkar especially in India with less bounce and movement. Nothing like running into bowl to him with a packed Indian crowd and massive roar. No real weakness.
Lara more unorthodox than Sachin but more brutal. Always a chance early before his feet really got going. Got him a couple of times early after that good luck, and made big scores as well no respite

PakPassion.Net: Do you think Australia will ever be dislodged from the top of the tree in terms of ODI & Test cricket?

Damien Fleming: Yes at some stage but I?m not sure when. We look more vulnerable now which is fair enough losing Warne, McGrath, Gilchrest etc. We will lose more away. We don?t have a lot of spin options so sub continent trips will be tough. But hopefully someone rises with the opportunity

PakPassion.Net: Which moment do you cherish the most in your career?

Damien Fleming: Test debut. Getting the baggy green on my head. First test win against the Poms in 1994/95 and singing our celebration song. ?Underneath the southern cross?. World Cup win in 1999 was superb we didn?t start well but we worked through things and peaked at the right time.

PakPassion.Net: Who was the best captain you played under and why?

Damien Fleming: Tough call. I only played a couple of ODI?s under Alan Border. But Taylor and S. Waugh were fantastic. Happy with both really. Taylor might have been having the worst day of his life but on the field he was controlled and gave u confidence by his composure and read the game well. S. Waugh was thoughtful off the field and led by his actions on the field. We have been blessed with skippers

PakPassion.Net: Damien You famously bowled the last over in the best ever world cup match between South Africa and Australia. What was going through your mind at start of the over when S.A needed 9 to win and Kluesener was on strike as you ran into bowl?

Damien Fleming: I bowled a lot at the death for Australia. And backed myself if it over 8 runs off the last over I reckon I could get us home. Bowling in this world cup at the end was tough as the duke balls retained their hardness at the end and didn?t go reverse that much chuck in the smaller UK grounds and give me the MCG with a softer swinging kookaburra ball anytime. We decided to come around the wicket to cramp Klusener and bowl Yorkers outside off stump. Which wasn?t the easiest for me as I generally bowled over the wickets and attacked the stumps. But a team rule is a team rule. I wasn?t unhappy with the first ball which Lance smashed 300 mph into the cover fence. I thought plans working well. Next ball was a half volley which he smashed twice as hard for four to tie the game. I thought I needed to take some control and told S Waugh I wanted to come back over the wicket and go across him. I had to bowl him out. And it didn?t work out that way but the run out made it more exciting.

PakPassion.Net: Who are the next up and coming players in Australian domestic cricket who will not only appear for the national squad but will make it big like Pointing/Hussey?

Damien Fleming: D. Hussey has a lot of talent and more explosive player then his brother. S. Watson looks like he can be anything if he can have an injury free run. And 19 year old Phillip Hughes should be our next opener as he averaged over 60 in his first season left hander who knows his game well. Bowling Noffke, Bollinger and Hilfenhaus. And hopefully a refreshed Shaun tait


PakPassion.Net: Damien, what technical advice would you provide to a bowler like Mohammed Sami, who seems to have lost his outswinger?

Damien Fleming: Bottom line is you have to get your wrists and fingers behind the ball and come down the back half of ball. On a full line and length. But with new ball swing the weather and pitch conditions have to be just right. If anything is out of sync the ball won?t swing.

PakPassion.Net: A lot has been said about the 99 WC final. On that day did you feel that the Pakistani players were under too much pressure that day, any observation from being an opponent of Pakistan from that day?

Damien Fleming: No disrespect to the Pakistani team. After those 2 close games against the South Africans we thought we could beat anyone in the world. If you don?t start well in finals it?s hard to come back.

PakPassion.Net: You have been a member of the Australian team when it really started to take the game to new levels from summer 1995. Based on your observations of Pakistani cricket, what do you think Pakistan lacks to make it the best team in the world?

Damien Fleming: I think they need to get their home tracks right for results in test cricket. I was part of two series in 1994 and 1998 and we played 6 tests 4 draws and one win each. The wickets were too flat. Consistency is another key, to be always playing close to your best as an individual and team regardless of where the match situations lies. Pakistan players seen to have a lot of cricket talent and are generally explosive players there is a lot to like about that.

PakPassion.Net: Who were your role models growing up as a kid?

Damien Fleming: Dennis Lillee was my idol. My first game I went to he broke Lance Gibbs test record at the mCG. That what inspired me to play cricket for Australia. He was a great bowler with amazing charisma. Still has I enjoy his company, makes me laugh

PakPassion.Net: Do you think quality of cricket has gone down compare to 10-20 years ago ?

Damien Fleming: I don?t think so. I?m excited to see where cricket goes in the next few years we may see more skilled players. Cricket is still a skill based game. But it?s about executed those skills under pressure and for a long period of time

PakPassion.Net: What is the fondest memory of your cricketing career?

Damien Fleming: Playing for your country. Touring with your mates. Testing yourself at the top level. Succeeding and celebrating, failing and having to work yourself back. You learn so much. Mateship just before I did this I was on Skype to Greg Blewett then Tim may I like that.

PakPassion.Net: How much influence or say does a captain have in Australian team selection? This question is for the squad and playing eleven. How much say should the captain have?

Damien Fleming: Depends on the captain. An experienced successful captain needs to get the team he wants. Period. He knows who he has confidence in on the field. An inexperienced one needs more help and mentoring from coaches and other senior players.

PakPassion.Net: What are some of the tips that you give to the young fast bowlers to stay injury free with out losing the bite in their bowling? because in recent times we have seen that genuine fast bowlers like Gul, Flintoff, AKhtar, Tait, Munaf, Jones etc have been seriously injury prone?

Damien Fleming: I?m probably the last person to give advice on how to stay fit. I wasn?t very good at it and just had my fourth major shoulder surgery a couple of weeks ago. You can only control something?s in your preparation as long as you are ticking the right boxes to get yourself right physically. Good luck. Bowling is a tough skill with 10 times your body parts going through every ball any imbalances can lead to trouble. Some guys are built for resilience some aren?t.

PakPassion.Net: Do you think their should be greater use of technology for LBW or bat/pad or caught behind decisions?

Damien Fleming: We live in the iPod age but cricket is still listening the cassette walkman. Throw open to challenges to the teams maybe three an innings. We might night get all the tight descions right but we can get rid of the shocker that leads to player dissent and loss of confidence in umpires.

PakPassion.Net: Would you say your test debut had the perfect personal performance for you as you took a hat-trick against Pakistan in Rawalpindi?

Damien Fleming: To get 7 wickets in your first test including a hat trick was a buzz. But the game ended in a draw so we didnt sing our song so I don?t look back on it that fondly besides at speaking gigs where I stretch those hat trick balls over a hour now.

PakPassion.Net: Some people still claim that "Steve Waugh's Australian team" was much stronger than "Pointing's Australian team"? What do you think about this?

Damien Fleming: Tough one that. It would be a good game. In world cups the 2003 and 2007 teams where more dominant than we were in 1996 and 1999 but was the competition as strong? It always a challenge comparing eras

PakPassion.Net: In what order would you rate: a) Test Cricket, b) ODI cricket, c) 20/20 Cricket?

Damien Fleming: Love them all. Although the oDI need a shake up in the middle over?s give the batting team a power play etc. Test where the ultimate. But having said that the toughest test I had playing probably was bowling to Tendulkar and co in one day cricket in India on low slow tracks and only allowed two fieldsman outside the circle that was a test.

PakPassion.Net: What do you think is the fundamental reason for Australia's dominance in cricket? Are they really that good or is everyone else just bad?

Damien Fleming: I think the Aussie team I played for really challenged themselves to set the standards don?t worry about opposition let them try and catch up. Buchanan challenged us in 1999 to leave a legacy like the invincible and we work through scoring quicker in test cricket setting more aggressive fields in oDi etc and gradually teams started to do the same. But when will we see other teams try and set new standards?

PakPassion.Net: How do you prepare yourself in big games? Such as a world cup final.

Damien Fleming: Not much different than normal obviously a bigger build up with all the excitement. But I found ?recipe of success ?like to call it through my career. I just documented what I needed to do in my preparation and training that let me go into game with confidence and let it happen in he game. So no different for a test match to a club game