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Veteran New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori announced his retirement from all forms of Cricket, fresh after the Kiwis landed after finishing runners-up in the ICC World Cup 2015. Widely regarded as one of the doyens of the Black Caps, the left-arm spinner finished as the highest wicket taker for his country across formats, finishing with 705 wickets from 442 matches.
The bespectacled genius held his own despite competing with a plethora of spin greats in his generation – Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, Saqlain Mushtaq etc. Shoed into the side as an 18-year-old, Vettori immediately made an impact and rose to become one of Stephen Fleming’s main men. Part of a power-packed New Zealand team of the late 90s and early 2000s, Vettori had to earn his spot despite showing supreme control with his craft. New Zealand has never been a happy place for spinners and Vettori sometimes found himself warming the bench, with the team management going with an all-pace battery.
The ICC Knockout win in 2000 at Kenya remains Vettori and New Zealand’s sole win in major International One-Day International tournaments. He was also part of the Kiwis’ semi-final finishes in 1999 and 2011 (as captain) before bowing out after the 2015 World Cup final, which ended as a damp squib for the spin legend, as he was unable to replicate his stupendous showing throughout the tournament. Vettori had pulled his hamstring while galloping straight to Trent Boult after New Zealand struck early, dismissing Aaron Finch.
With Brendon McCullum looking set to take New Zealand to their “greatest times of their lives”, as he often quipped throughout the tournament, Vettori played a major part in the Australasian country’s reversal in fortunes in International Cricket.
Not long ago, New Zealand were in tatters, being punching bags for the top ranked sides and failing to register wins even against Bangladesh. Despite getting to a World Cup semi-final, 2009-2013 were bleak years for the Kiwis and Vettori was on the forefront of his all, taking the team forward and leading the team in his calm, unassuming manner. Then, tragedy struck with Vettori out of the game for two-and-a-half years before making a comeback against Pakistan in December 2014. This time, he was given a guard of honour welcome by a side that was a well oiled machine.
Cricket.co.au quoted Vettori as saying “It would have been great to win, but I’m pretty proud of everyone, the way we’ve gone about things the last six weeks. “To be able to finish in the final, albeit without a win, I’m just very grateful for the amount of support I had particularly from Brendon (McCullum) and Mike (Hesson, the coach). “To be able to get back from a number of injuries and to be here and to be part of it is something I’ll always treasure.”
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