Daniel Vettori: News

Bespectacled with his nerd-like looks, former New Zealand cricketer Daniel Vettori might have fooled many when they faced him. One of the best ever to play for New Zealand, when he made his debut in Tests against England 1997, Vettori was only 18 years old—the youngest New Zealander to play a Test match. The same year, he made his debut in ODI as well. The best left-arm spinner to play after Bishen Singh Bedi, Vettori wasn't famous for his turn or spin. He was a tactically astute bowler who fooled the batsmen with his flight, guile, and pace variation. It certainly helped that he had an arm ball that turned into a hand grenade when it reached the batsmen. Only the eighth player to take 300 wickets and make 3,000 runs in Test cricket, Vettori was the rock in New Zealand's lower middle-order. He is the most capped player for New Zealand in both Tests and ODIs. Vettori was New Zealand's captain during one of their tumultuous times from 2007-11, but like everything, he led a bunch of inexperienced cricketers with grace and class. He retired from international cricket after the 2015 World Cup.