Cricket: Vettori out of final test

Daniel Vettori

Never mind the first test, the second also looks destined for a draw following another setback for spin star Daniel Vettori.

Possibly the only New Zealand bowler capable of running through the Sri Lankan batting line-up, Vettori was yesterday ruled out of the second test with back problems and a more minor injury to his right wrist.

The news will come as a blow for New Zealand because Vettori has shown impressive form all summer and was the only bowler in the team to provide a genuine challenge for the Australians during last month's test series.

It also means that Vettori, who has 196 wickets from 62 tests, will be forced to wait at least another four months to reach 200, a milestone that only two New Zealanders - Sir Richard Hadlee and Chris Cairns - have achieved.

The decision to rest Vettori for Wellington will push his next opportunity to play at international level back to the tour of Zimbabwe in August or - in a worst-case scenario - the South African series a couple of months later.

Vettori had hoped the rest after the Australian series would allow him to bounce back for the Wellington test, but team manager Lindsay Crocker said the back injury had not responded as well as expected.

Crocker reasoned that the long-term goal of getting the spinner match-fit was more sensible than risking him in the final match, and emphasised that Vettori himself had accepted that further rest was required.

Vettori also had a "wear-and-tear" injury to his right wrist - diagnosed as a sprain with a minor joint irritation, although Crocker said it had not played a part in the decision to rule him out of the second test.

Last week named New Zealand's player of the year, Vettori also picked up the Winsor Cup for first-class bowling and the Walter Hadlee Trophy for the most outstanding bowling in one-day internationals.