Mixed World Cup emotions for Stephen Fleming

Stephen Fleming

Christchurch, Jan 1 - Former New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming has said he is satisfied yet frustrated as New Zealand have reached the semi-finals of the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup six times but failed to win the title even once.

Fleming felt their appearance in six semi-finals speaks about the country's consistency in the World Cup and it is something to be proud of.

"If you have ever wondered whether it is possible to be frustrated by and yet satisfied with the same thing then, in my case, the answer is yes," Fleming wrote in a column for icc-cricket.com.

"You might think the two emotions are contradictory, but I reckon they sum up New Zealand's quest for ICC World Cup glory perfectly, especially in my time as a player," he wrote.

Fleming also stated they were frustrated at having reached the semi-finals in 1999 and 2007 and just could not take the last few steps needed to clinch the title.

"But on the other hand is the knowledge we lost on each occasion to more skillful sides - in my case against Pakistan in 1999 and then Sri Lanka eight years later," said Fleming.

The 41-year-old also wrote: "That is not to say we felt we had run our race as we still had the dream of greater glory. But I suspect the teams we came up against thought slightly differently, that the semi-final was just one more game towards the ultimate goal of lifting the Cup."