Daniel Luca Vettori, informally referred to as “Dannyboy”, by ones close to him, is one of the most prolific all- rounders the cricket world has ever produced. At the tender age of 18, he was inducted into the New Zealand squad, becoming the youngest player to represent New Zealand in Test cricket. He went on to become only the 8th player in test history to score 3000 runs and take 300 wickets. Vettori has left behind a legacy which only a few can even dream about matching up to.
Born on January 27, 1979, Vettori has featured in four Cricket World Cups –2003, 2007, 2011 and finally in 2015.
His slow left-arm unorthodox spin had a huge impact on New Zealand cricket, becoming the youngest player to capture a hundred wickets. In only his first ten matches, he yielded 30 wickets. However, his claim to fame actually came in the series against Australia when he took 7/87 in the first innings. He eventually finished the match with career- best figures of 12/149. Only one other New Zealander, Richard Hadlee, had taken more wickets than him in a single test when he managed to get 13 wickets. Vettori went on to repeat the feat by taking 12 wickets against Bangladesh in 2004-05, becoming the only New Zealand player to do it twice.
As if troubling the opposition with his bowling wasn’t enough, Vettori proved to be more than just handy with the bat too. A very useful lower order batsman, he scored more than 4000 test runs, including 6 centuries and 23 half centuries. The man who took over the captaincy of the national squad from Stephen Fleming in 2007, announced his retirement after the Cricket World Cup in 2011. However, Brendon McCullum insisted that Vettori came back for the 2015 Cricket World Cup as he considered Vettori to be an important factor if New Zealand were to do well in the tournament. Vettori took the offer and by becoming the joint highest wicket taker by a spinner in the Cricket World Cup in 2015, not only did Vettori prove that he was one of the greatest spinners the world has ever seen, but he also bid adieu to the cricketing world in some style.
Notable teams that he has represented are New Zealand, Delhi Daredevils, Jamaican Tallawahs, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Queensland, Northern Districts, Warwickshire and ICC World XI. At the moment, he is the head coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL as well as Brisbane Heats in the Big Bash League.
