Classicist-Daniel Vettori

Left arm spin bowlers provide great utility to any team. They provide their bowling unit with a cushion and can get very effective with their angles and spots. Bowling left arm spin is an art that requires constant practice to gain mastery. For any right handed batsman, scoring against a lefty spinner can be a tough task. Plus, if the bowler knows how to bowl in the right areas and knows how to bowl variations, like armour and faster one, can get very economical. Hence, lefty spinners are a boon to any team. 

One such left arm orthodox bowler who holds the record of being the first left arm spinner in the world to take more than 300 wickets in both test and one day is Daniel Vettori. In this article, ZAP Cricket discusses his career trajectory in detail. 

Daniel Vettori was a classicist who won many games for his country with his all round efforts. His quota of overs was fixed and the team relied heavily on his bowling abilities. Moreover, his lower order batting capabilities provided a lot of stability to the batting department. He was even made an officer of the New Zealand order of merit in 2011 Queen’s Birthday Honors for his services to cricket.  

Also, In 2005 and 2008 he was named in World ODI XI by ICC. His Biography- Turning Point was published in August 2008 that mentioned his hardships and his thrive to become the best in the world. 

Early life and domestic cricket

Vettori was born on 27 January, 1979 in Auckland. He attended Marian School and St. Paul’s Collegiate School. Initially, he was a medium pace bowler but later he realized that he is potentially more stronger as a left arm orthodox and eventually became the one of the finest left arm spinners in the world. He played domestic cricket for Northern Districts. He was a regular participant in County cricket as well. He played for Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire.  

International career

Vettori was the youngest male player to have represented New Zealand in test cricket at the age of 18. He made his Test debut on 6 February, 1997 vs England and ODI debut on 25 March, 1997 vs Sri Lanka. Although, he made his T20I debut after 10 years, that is on 12 September, 2007 vs Kenya. He has played 442 international matches, across all the formats, scoring 6,989 runs and taking 705 wickets. He is New Zealand’s most capped test and one day

Vettori was one of the finest cricketers of his era. His contributions with both ball and bat made him a complete all-rounder. He always appeared to be a student of the game who constantly studied the game of his opponents. Because of his ability to handle pressure and his sharp decision making skills, he was appointed as the captain of the national team between 2007 and 2011. 

Later in 2015, after the defeat in the 2015 World Cup final, he announced his retirement from all the formats of the game. He played his last Test match on 26 November, 2014 vs Pakistan, last ODI on 29 March, 2015 vs Australia and last T20I on 5 December, 2014 vs Pakistan.  

International stats

IPL and other franchise tournaments

Vettori’s IPL journey started when he was picked by Delhi Daredevils in the inaugural season. He played for Delhi in 2008 and 2010 but featured only in five matches. Later in 2011, he was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the auction. He played 22 matches for them. Overall he had a very brief career as a franchise cricketer in India. However, once he retired, he reentered in IPL but this time as a coach. 

In Big Bash League, Vettori played for Brisbane Heat in 2011/12- and 2014/15 editions. In the Caribbean Premier League, he played for Jamaica Tallawahs in 2014. His mastery in spin made him a very economical bowler. Plus his efficiency in lower order batting made him a power pack performer in the shortest format of the game. 

Coaching career

Daniel Vettori’s second innings as a coach started in IPL itself. He was assigned the duties of head coach of RCB from 2014-2018. Later, In July 2019, he was picked as the bowling coach for Bangladesh national team. In August 2021, he became the head coach of Barbados Royals in CPL and In August 2023, he was appointed as head coach of SRH. Currently, he is working as the assistant coach of Australia’s men’s national cricket team. All his experience comes handy to the teams he is associated with.