The ex captain of New Zealand, Vettori, spoke in great detail to PakPassion.net about his passion for the game and New Zealand cricket in general, qualities that make a good captain and spinner, as well as his aspirations and most cherished moments. He also had some wonderful words of appreciation for Pakistani spin wizard, Saqlain Mushtaq

By Shoaib Naveed (November 12, 2011)

To many outsiders, Daniel Vettori is a synonym for a one man force of nature that has taken New Zealand to some fantastic victories in all formats of the game. PakPassion.net had a unique opportunity to meet with Daniel in the back drop of a promotional media event in Auckland to launch the HRV Cup.

Vettori, who has captained New Zealand until his standing down recently, spoke in great detail to PakPassion.net about his passion for the game and New Zealand cricket in general, qualities that make a good captain and spinner, as well as his aspirations and most cherished moments. He also had some wonderful words of appreciation for former Pakistan spin wizard, Saqlain Mushtaq

PakPassion.net: How much of your style of captaincy and the way you run the team did you take from Stephen Fleming?

Daniel Vettori: Probably hundred percent of it I would say. He was in charge of the side through out most of my career, I think except for four Test matches under Lee Germon and Dion Nash my entire career was based under him. So he was the major influence on my style of captaincy and I learnt so much from him. Particularly the trait of remaining as calm as possible out in the middle, because I think people feed of that and if you tend to be irrational or up or down emotionally it becomes tough for your side to follow you.


PakPassion.net: Who were your heroes growing up as a kid?

Daniel Vettori: Sir Richard definitely, watching him bowl in the Brisbane Test where he took nine wickets and just seeing him bowl so well in general. Steve Waugh I think even as a young guy growing up I liked watching him play. It changes a bit when you start playing guys who were your idols when you were young, but those two when I was growing up.


PakPassion.net: What are the traits in your opinion young captains need to develop to be successful at leading?

Daniel Vettori: I think the most important thing is developing a rapport with your players. They follow you because of your performance and more importantly the way you lead the side. I think captains generally are good players, or you would not be put in a position of that much responsibility so your performance tends to take care of itself if you are mentally strong and don’t let the pressures that come with the job get to you. So it is developing an understanding and empathy with the way your players work that is key to the job.


PakPassion.net: How much of it is about knowing the tactics of the game?

Daniel Vettori: Well I think tactics come to you as the game unfolds. It is difficult to go out on the park with a rigid plan in mind because the game can change so quickly. So you have to be adaptable, going in with little ideas and allowing yourself room to change. Also knowing your players gives you the ability to know what you can get out of them and what each of them can provide you in a certain situations.


PakPassion.net: Can you walk me a bit through the World Cup Quarter Final game against South Africa? Any special instance that turned it for you and you think made it possible for you to win the game?

Daniel Vettori: You are always thinking you are going to do something but it hardly ever goes according to plan. I think we put a total on the board that we thought was competitive, and the way Jesse and Ross played gave us that opportunity but it was still going to be very tough from there. We probably never believed till we ran De Villiers out because he is such a fine player and because of how well he has done for them in the past in similar situations, so that is some thing that galvanized the team and lead us on.


PakPassion.net: And Guptill’s fielding effort?

Daniel Vettori: He was amazing in the field, but that is something you count on as there are very few guys who can change the course of a game through their fielding and we are lucky to have him.


PakPassion.net: New Zealand Captains tend to be great improvisers and be the most innovative captains of their time, but when it comes to batting and bowling there is a feeling they play too much by the book. Do you think there is a sense of over coaching at the grass roots level?

Daniel Vettori: No I don’t think that’s generally true. I think there are not that many great coaches floating around to begin with and the guys growing up play the game for the love of the sport and to be in the company of others who enjoy the game as much as they do. And that’s the most important part of it, to love the sport; the coaching bit only comes in later when it becomes more of a necessity. 


PakPassion.net: New Zealand Cricket manages to perform consistently, especially at the World Stage but lacks that final push on most occasions. Do you think there is a reason for that? 

Daniel Vettori: There are different ways you can look at that. I personally choose to admire how much our Cricket has been able to achieve over the years representing a population of only four million compared to say India (with a billion) and Pakistan (with 180 million). You can step back and be proud of what we have achieved especially in World Cup tournaments over the last 30 years. Of course at the same time there is a huge expectation within the country and people who follow the game to do better and I think creating a balance between those two is the hardest bit.


PakPassion.net: Test Cricket or T20?

Daniel Vettori: I love Test cricket, it is the game I grew up on and love playing and being involved in. The decision I made to stick to Test cricket is one of the best ones I made and will stick with that as long as I can. Hopefully Test Cricket remains the integral part of the cricketing landscape.


PakPassion.net: You became quite a handy lower middle order bat late in your career? How did you manage that transformation ?

Daniel Vettori: I wasn’t happy with my performance and what I was delivering as a batsman and knew I could do much better. Spent a lot of time and effort with Ross the assistant coach of the team a while back and Stephen Fleming, both of us being tall left handers I tried to take a leaf out of his book. But most of it all was the mental application. Being an aggressive batsman and dragging that out to as long as possible was the biggest switch in my opinion.


PakPassion.net: Growing up as a spinner, who did you aspire to become?

Daniel Vettori: John Bracewell when I was really young. I was a medium pacer till I was fifteen so I guess watching spinners wasn’t top of my priority list. Then Shane Warne, I think any spinner my age would have aspired to him while growing up. 


PakPassion.net: You are famous for the drift you get and your arm ball, is that something that comes naturally or something you have developed over the years by working hard at it?

Daniel Vettori: I would say reasonably naturally. I think the drift particularly that’s just my action and the way I release the ball. And the arm ball depends on the conditions on the day, if it’s swinging it’s fine and if it’s not then it becomes difficult at times - hopefully it is natural because I think most things that work well for players are those that come naturally to them.


PakPassion.net: You used to be a bigger turner of the ball. But later on your bowling depended much more on flight variation, deceiving and out-thinking the batsmen. Was that a conscious shift?

Daniel Vettori: No I don’t think I was ever really a big turner of the ball. I think it’s a popular myth and misconception that has gained popularity due to the game against Australia where I took twelve wickets on a spinning wicket at Eden Park. That was just an excellent track for a spin bowler to bowl on, especially considering now as the pitches are not conducive for spin bowling in New Zealand at all. Short boundaries add to the misery and it’s a lot of hard work. I have always been an accurate bowler who tries to deceive batsmen with variations in pace and bounce and that’s just the way I’ve been through out my career. 


PakPassion.net: You come off as someone who is a great student of the game. Is that true? 

Daniel Vettori: I love the game and I enjoy following it. Maybe not a big reader of cricket literature but I know the game. Have a sense of the records and the great people who have played the game before us and appreciate the history of the game. And also know that there are many more greats who will follow in our footsteps and respect that sense of occasion immensely.


PakPassion.net: As a captain what would be top of your wish list, a tear away great fast bowler or a great genuine attacking opener?

Daniel Vettori: I think you want to be greedy and have it all, but New Zealand haven’t generally had a rich history of opening batsman with averages in fifties like say Australia or India so that’s some thing that’s always a drawback. It’s hard to pick one and fortunately I am not captain anymore so I don’t have to worry about it. 


PakPassion.net: If you had to do a brutal evaluation of your captaincy and pick out what you did best and what some of the regrets were, what would they be?

Daniel Vettori: It’s hard to know I think because it is what it is in a lot of ways and you learn to deal with it. As a bowling captain I really enjoyed working with the bowlers and building a good rapport with the team in general, that’s some thing I did well and really enjoyed. In terms of regrets I think you will always be judged by your success in the long run and my win/loss ratio is not that great especially in Tests so that is some thing I would have loved to improve because in the end that’s what people remember. 


PakPassion.net: Someone who got on your nerve a lot?

Daniel Vettori: I don’t know about getting on my nerve but I can tell you who was the hardest guy to bowl to. Rahul Dravid is the best player of spin that I have come across, was always difficult to bowl to him and guys like Gichrist who can hit you out of the park at any time, it’s not getting on your nerve but definitely hard work.


PakPassion.net: Your favourite Pakistani Cricketer?

Daniel Vettori: Saqlain Mushtaq for sure, I used to love watching Saqlain bowl. Got to work with him over the last couple of years when he came over and helped the team. Not only from a bowling perspective but batting as well. He is a lovely man who imparted a lot of knowledge to us. Not only the way he played the game and how innovative and successful he was as a spin bowler but him as a person as well. 


PakPassion.net: World Cup in three and a half year’s time in New Zealand, you reckon you will be there for a last hurrah?

Daniel Vettori: Would definitely love to. I remember the 1992 World Cup as one of the great moments in the history of N.Z Sport and how I was swept in it. The team did really well in the tournament and reached the semi-finals and I would love to be a part of something similar.

Discuss!