Cricket: Vettori - a career of two halves

By RICHARD BOOCK


Depending on which school of thought you subscribe to, Daniel Vettori is either battling against his own lofty reputation, or slowly sinking in the quicksand of a reformed action.

It wouldn't be the first time that a top young bowler has exploded on to the world scene, terrorising batting line-ups on three different continents before being subdued by the restrictions of his own body.

But the usual trend is for the fast bowlers to make the sudden entrance and exit; the idea of a champion spinner, and an orthodox one at that, succumbing to injury-induced action changes, is a bit different.

Lest we forget, Vettori, who made his entrance to test cricket at the scarcely believable age of 18, harnessed such penetration in his early years that he became the youngest spinner in history to snare 100 wickets.

But then came the back injury in 2000, and the aggravation in his comeback test against Zimbabwe, sidelining him from the test arena for the best part of a year and forcing some significant changes to his action.

A sobering statistical analysis of Vettori's test record reveals that he was a virtual phenomenon in his first 30 tests, at which point he was probably the finest legal finger-spinner in the world, having taken 105 wickets at 32.18.

But since his injury he has played 23 tests and taken just 49 wickets at 49.85, including four at 113.50 against South Africa last month, seven at 96.71 for the home summer, and 12 at 84.16 for the season.

The alarm bells are starting to ring so loudly that there is even talk of the 25-year-old being rested for the tour to England, on the grounds that he needs time to reflect and work on his game outside the glare of the international arena.

Vettori himself acknowledges the changes forced upon his action, and the fact that the results have not been as impressive since the year-long lay-off in 2001.

"It sort of falls into two halves, the way I played up to my injury problem in 2000, and my performance since then with a remodelled action," he said of his career.

"It hasn't been easy post-injury because I aggravated the problem in my comeback test against Zimbabwe, and the pitches in New Zealand, for a while at least, almost made spin bowling redundant."

The modifications to his action came under scrutiny earlier in the season from Dunedin coaching guru Billy Ibadulla, who suggested everything was fine apart from Vettori's run-up, delivery-stride, front-arm, grip and follow-through.

Not sure how to take Ibadulla's observations, Vettori went on the defensive at first, but relaxed more when he learned that the comments were meant to be helpful rather than negative, and that their source was well-intentioned.

"My action's changed a lot since the injury. I'm a lot more side-on at the crease these days and I had to do that to avoid injuring myself further," he said.

"Whether it's affected my career, I'm not sure. I reckon I've turned in some of my best spells after my injury, and then there's been the recent pitch conditions, so it's hard to weigh up."

Interestingly, his two five-wicket bags came during the comeback tour of Australia in 2001, when he took five for 138 in the second test at Hobart and (in what should have been a match-winning performance but for umpire Ian Robinson) six for 76 at Perth.

Ibadulla said it was difficult to argue that orthodox finger-spinners such as Vettori were playing a diminishing role in the modern game when South Africa's Nicky Boje virtually won the test at Wellington and saved the series.

"To be honest, I'm not quite sure that he [Vettori] understands the philosophy of left-arm spin yet," Ibadulla said. "There were times during the series when he had a whiff of an opening but didn't follow it up and explore, like you would expect with a finger-spinner.

"At one stage he spun a ball past the bat of an in-form Jacques Kallis in Auckland, but didn't really revisit the area, and that surprised me."

One of world cricket's most respected coaches, Ibadulla masterminded the technique of Glenn Turner, worked with a raft of other New Zealand players such as Warren Lees, Stephen Boock and Ken Rutherford, and also coached the Pakistan under-19 side.

"I can tell you that I'm sorry my previous comments have been borne out by Vettori's performance. I don't enjoy it. I haven't enjoyed it, but the important thing is to identify the problem."

Ibadulla, who was also director of coaching at Otago when a young John Bracewell was launched into first-class cricket, said the good news was that Vettori had an excellent mentor and coach.

"I met John again when New Zealand were playing in Dunedin, and I think we can be confident that Vettori's future is in good hands."

DANIEL LUCA VETTORI

* Age 25.

* In 2001 became the youngest spinner in the world to take 100 test wickets.

* Was 18 years and 10 days old when made his test debut - the youngest ever New Zealander.

* Figures before injury in 2001: 105 wickets at 32.18 (30 tests).

* Figures after injury: 49 at 49.85 (23 tests).

* Best bowling in a match: 12 for 149 v Australia, Auckland, 2001.

* Maiden test century: v South Africa, Hamilton, 2004.

* Dream date: Supermodel Heidi Klum (right).