Fan Salute to Retiring Dan

Outside of rugby union, sport in New Zealand rarely reaches a glorious conclusion. The end to Daniel Vettori’s career, after nearly twenty years as an international cricketer, was never going to be showered in the cool splashes of celebratory champagne. The Kiwis had a World Cup for the whole nation to be proud of but, when their Hollywood moment finally arrived in the March final, the richer, more powerful, and glamorous Aussies (as ever) broke hearts across the Tasman Sea.

As such, the Black Caps’ most successful spinner never had his rose-sprinkled final bow. Instead, his farewell from the sport was more typical of a New Zealand sportsman – modest, understated and with a faint whiff of a John Ford western; the quiet, unrepentant hero riding alone into the sunset.

If it had not been for the unrepeatable exploits of Richard Hadlee, his bespectacled successor in the Kiwi test match side would surely be regarded as the greatest cricketer New Zealand has ever produced. Few pundits speak of the veteran left-arm spinner as one of the sport’s dominant figures but for me, as a teenage fan spellbound by his team’s plucky spirit during their 2008 tour of England, he can be rated as one of the greats, even beyond his peers from the Antipodes islands.

Having made his debut for the Black Caps as a seventeen year old, Vettori went on to claim a staggering 705 wickets across all forms of the game spanning over 300 total appearances. After years of batting at the bottom order, he also developed into a consistent all-rounder, amassing 4531 Test runs, including six centuries.

Even in his 37^th year, the returning stalwart played a key part in his team’s path to the World Cup climax, not for the first time proving to be one of the world’s most economical bowlers. Although his career Test bowling average of 34.46 may seem inflated to modern fans, considering he spent almost two decades toiling through long spells in often unfavourable conditions for his orthodox turn, and without consistent support from a frontline pace attack, his statistics clearly do not tell the whole story of his contribution at the crease.

As captain from 2007-2011, his successes were more limited, especially in the longer format. Nevertheless, compared to arguably higher achieving skippers such as Brendon McCullum and Stephen Fleming, Vettori could marshal his colleagues to dare for over-achievement against any of the seemingly stronger nations.

Without ever gaining a reputation for a troublesome personality, Vettori’s naturally outspoken competitiveness allowed him to cause a stir when his squad were treated with injustice. One such occasion was a heated exchange from The Oval balcony after a controversial (that is to say unsporting) run out after a trip by England’s Ryan Sidebottom. Too often the supposed minnows of sport are meant to suffer wrongdoing in silence, yet this strong-willed leader was stubborn enough to cry foul against the ‘big boys’.  

After resigning the burden of captaincy, Vettori’s later efforts were curtailed by chronic injury. If it had not been for these setbacks he could have easily become the first New Zealander to achieve the combined landmark of making 4000 Test runs and 400 wickets.

Wisden may never fully acknowledge Vettori’s steady contribution in the early twenty-first century, particularly when pitted against the likes of Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan in the typically pointless Best XI lists, but he is a character who leaves the sport weaker without him. Vettori’s country will never again produce another cricketer of his sort, calibre and style. That final match in Adelaide merely serves as the last ‘if’ moment in his phenomenal, though unrewarded, career.