Cricket: Vettori trumps Muralitharan's Lord's record

LONDON - Daniel Vettori got one over the wizard of spin Muttiah Muralitharan when he claimed a spot in the Lord's cricketing hall of fame yesterday.

New Zealand's left-arm spinner ended another frustrating tour in style with career-best figures of five for 30 off 9.2 overs against the West Indies in the tri-series final.

He topped Muralitharan's record one-day figures at Lord's of five for 34 against England in 1998 and will join the walk of fame under the Compton Stand, which recognises all the top performances at the home of cricket.

"To come out and field and bowl the way we did, and for me to get some results which was a little bit tough lately, was pretty special," Vettori said.

He had bagged four wickets four previous times, including his previous best of four for 14 in Dambulla last year when New Zealand won their last overseas tri-series title. His form has been under the microscope for much of the past year after struggling to make an impact on the subcontinent then in the home summer.

But he was on his game yesterday, trapping West Indies captain Brian Lara leg before wicket for 30 and getting two decisions out of the usually immovable umpire Rudi Koertzen.

"Rudi finally gave me a decision. It was one of those days, you can bowl like that all the time and not get the results.

"It's been an enjoyable tour, and to cap it off like this makes the test series a distant memory but something that still hurts us a lot."

There were also two direct hit run outs to add to the carnage, giving Vettori seven of the 10 dismissals.

Vettori varied his pace and flight expertly and, helped by the slow Lord's pitch, combined with Chris Harris and cameos from Scott Styris and Craig McMillan to slam the brakes on.

It was a rare stroll in the park for the slow men after seamer-friendly surfaces in the preliminary rounds.

- NZPA