Daniel Vettori quits test captaincy after series loss to Pakistan
New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori has decided to quit captaincy in the longest format of the game after his team lost the two match series to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 1-0. The all-rounder claimed that he had made the decision more than three years ago
and the inability to force a win in the second test at the Basin Reserve in Wellington did not have any affect on the decision.
Vettori has been one of the greats of the game in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754. He is closing in on 400 test scalps and has blossomed as one of the leading all-rounders in the test format in recent years. The left-arm off-spinner had a fantastic time in
the second test scoring 110 and taking 4 wickets in the first innings, however, unfortunately he failed to force a win against the obdurate Pakistani batting duo of Younis Khan, and especially http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Misbah-ul-Haq-c1972 - who never really looked like he wanted to win the
match - even though he could, had he tried.
Vettori's captained the team in 32 tests, his tenure was generally a disappointing one with only six Test wins in three years, with four of those wins coming against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747.
"I made that decision three and a half years ago," Vettori said. "So that's it. My timing was always to finish after the World Cup and that stays the same."
Under the bespectacled left-armer the Black Caps lost eighteen Tests and drew thirteen, with nine series losses out of thirteen. The major wins in his career at the helm were wins over England and Pakistan in one test each.
Despite the captaincy burden, Vettori has a good time with the ball and the bat and was known as the one man demolition squad due to his consistent run especially in test cricket. With the ball, he performed regularly taking 116 wickets
at an average of 33.38.
At the post match media briefing in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wellington-c864, Vettori claimed that there were regrets that he has from his captaincy career, he felt at times that his team could have done much better than they did. However, he singled out wins over
Pakistan and England as the happy moments in his tenure.
"There are always regrets, you always want to perform better," Vettori said. "But I can walk away from the captaincy thinking that I gave it everything, particularly with my performance."
"The Test win against England and the Test win against Pakistan last year were highlights. Just seeing a group of young guys come into the team [has also been a highlight]. It's a vastly different outfit from the one I started captaining
and I think there are some really talented players there."
Vettori believes that the New Zealand cricket set-up has some explosive batting talent that can serve the country for many years if the players are utilized properly and not allowed to dwindle away.
He stated that there was good batting talent yet there were hardly any notable fast bowlers coming through the ranks in the country.
Although his tenure was a largely unsuccessful one, Vettori's captaincy career in test format would be remembered as an era where he blossomed into one of the best cricketers in the modern era, one who gave his everything for his country.
Tags: