KEY POINTS:
Two people whose views on the subject carry considerable weight reckon Daniel Vettori is highly capable of captaining New Zealand in all three international games.
One is national coach and chief selector John Bracewell; the other is Vettori.
Having been named captain for the inaugural Twenty20 world championship
in South Africa next month, to go with the ODI job he's inherited from Stephen Fleming after this year's World Cup, that only leaves the five-day game in Fleming's hands.
When the new selection panel is put in place shortly, the first order of business will be choosing the team for the test tour to South Africa in November. The top item will be the captaincy.
Bracewell said he's got no problem working with two captains but "I feel comfortable Dan could do the test job".
Vettori said yesterday he'd relish the chance if it comes, while acknowledging doing all three would be a big challenge.
"But if you look round the world, there's plenty of guys doing it," he said yesterday. "I'm not daunted by any means. If my time comes and that's the way it falls I'd be more than happy to do it.
"Anybody with captaincy aspirations would love to captain in a test match. But obviously there's a lot of things to work through before that comes, with what Stephen wants to do and with what the selectors want to do."
It's known that the old selection panel, who may also be the new panel - Bracewell, Glenn Turner, Dion Nash and Sir Richard Hadlee - contained at least one member open to the idea of changing the test skipper.
Vettori's qualities as limited-overs captain have already been seen in 11 ODIs, standing in when Fleming was unavailable, since 2005.
He's won 8 of the 11 but when the captain is a frontline bowler, it's worth examining his contribution with the ball in those games.
Vettori has not been shy of marking out his runup and he's been successful, taking 16 wickets at 21 apiece.
Appointing a bowling captain always carries the issue of whether he will be forthright in using himself, will use himself at the right times, or tend to look elsewhere.
Vettori appeals as a good thinker who won't worry about introducing himself to the crease.
Vettori, 28, said he has long aspired to the captaincy and in idle moments his mind was no different from most players, wondering if an extra slip was worth a try, or moving mid on wider.
"The most enjoyable thing is the control in the game, the idea that you can dictate in a lot of ways the momentum, or lack of it.
"I've always thought I've got a reasonable cricket brain and my mind always tends to work through ideas and permutations of what can happen. Now I can put those ideas into fruition and that's the most appealing thing."
Vettori, armed with accumulated wisdom from 195 ODIs and 72 tests since 1997, believes he's a democrat in leadership style, but equally knows where the buck will stop.
"I know I've got good people round me and I want to make the most of them and their ideas. But there's always that understanding that when it comes down to it I'm going to have to be the one who makes the decision."
Vettori has only played one Twenty20 game, for Northern Districts. But he's relaxed about stepping up for the world championship, when New Zealand will play Kenya and Sri Lanka in pool games.
He holds the theory that the first 10 overs batting and last 10 overs of bowling in an ODI form the guts of Twenty20.
"That's the way most people have seen as the style to play the game. I don't think we'll go too far from there."
The squad will have about 10 days' preparation in South Africa before the championship starts, including a couple of practice games.
