Vettori accepts Test career may be over

Vettori accepts Test career may be over

It appears as though Father Time is going to collect another scalp as Daniel Vettori admits that his Test career may well be over. A shame. Vettori was a class act and his 360 Test wickets puts him behind only Richard Hadlee for most wickets among New Zealanders.

Quote: Daniel Vettori, New Zealand's most capped Test player, has accepted that his playing days in the longest format are virtually over. Due to a series of injuries, he hasn't played a Test in more than two years, and he has now set his sights on the World Cup at home.

"[Test cricket's] not at the forefront of my mind," he told the Herald on Sunday. "I can't guarantee the amount of overs [required] to play a Test match and don't want to get in way of Ish [Sodhi] and Mark [Craig] in their development. It's definitely on the back burner."

Almost all the cricket that the 35-year-old Vettori has played in 2014 has been with Twenty20 franchises, with Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League and with Brisbane Heat in Australia's Big Bash. He also coached Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL this year. He hasn't played one-day cricket since June 2013, but has turned out for Northern Districts in four first-class matches last season.

"The World Cup's the goal. Tests would put too much of a strain on the body at this stage of my career."

Vettori accepts Test career may be over

Vettori is one of the greatest spin bowlers that New Zealand has ever produced and its a shame his test career is over. Vettori still has something to offer at least in the shorter forms of the game and I hope he will feature for New Zealand at the world cup next year if he has not retired from international cricket.

I can't see Vettori ever getting back in the Test side, sadly. He hasn't played a Test since 2012 and only played 12 Test matches in the last four years.

All that being said, Vettori has to be considered the greatest spinner in New Zealand's history. He is the most successful left-arm spinner in the history of the game, surpassing Derek Underwood and trails only Hadlee for most wickets by a NZ bowler.