Cricket: Vettori's captaincy resembled one-man show

Daniel Vettori remains the country's best slow operator. Photo / Christine Cornege

To Ross Taylor or Brendon McCullum will fall the honour of being New Zealand's 27th test captain in Bangladesh later this year.

Both have been vice-captain. McCullum was, Taylor is. The jury is out on which man would be the better candidate.

But what of the man who stood aside this week after being at the helm since November, 2007?

How will Dan Vettori's 32-test reign be remembered?

His numbers don't read well.

Of his six test wins, four were against Bangladesh. A decent ODI side, they sit at the bottom of the test ladder for a reason.

Pakistan were beaten by 32 runs in an exciting finish in Dunedin last season, but the pick was cleaning up England by 189 runs at Seddon Park in March 2008.

It was a cracking display, led by Taylor's maiden hundred, and fine seam bowling from Chris Martin and Kyle Mills, with Jeetan Patel's offspin doing its bit alongside Vettori.

The skipper scored 88 and 35, bowled 70 overs in the test, took three wickets and in a sense that encapsulated his cricket as skipper.

His own game lifted significantly in terms of output.

He reinforced his standing as the game's best No 8, batted as high as No 4 on occasion, averaging far higher with the bat than in his non-captaincy days, and took his wickets at a slightly cheaper rate.

It was as well his game lifted several notches as at times he resembled a one-man show, such were the often-startling fluctuations in form of most of the players around him.

There was seldom a game in which Vettori could afford to be a bit-part player, knowing others would stand up.

One example: winning the toss against India in Hamilton last season in the first test, Vettori walked out at 60 for six on lunch. Some time later he headed back to the pavilion with 118 to his name.

So often he was a rescuer of seemingly lost causes. If his captaincy tended towards the conservative and his bowling became stock rather than attacking, his ability to spin the ball sometimes slipping, often as not that was down to circumstances.

It's not that the players around Vettori have been uniformly ordinary. But their returns have been anything but consistent, or reliable.

Vettori has also been true to his word. He first flagged his intention to stand aside about three years ago. He has not wavered.

If NZC did approach him to stick around a while until they had sorted out who should take over, he stood firm. He had, after all, given plenty of notice. This was hardly a bolt from deep mid wicket.

Vettori will stay on, his value high. He's just turned 32 and has plenty of time left. Although he relies more on flight and savvy these days, he remains the country's best slow operator.

"His record speaks for itself," coach John Wright said. "I don't think he's a spent force as far as being our leading spinner goes."

As for his replacement, Taylor is well positioned. NZC have two distinct styles and approaches to consider.

Taylor would be an undemonstrative figure, more inclined to a quiet word than a fist slapped into a palm.

They will also be hoping that wearing the armband produces a higher level of consistency in the leading batsman. He can't confess to being bored out, as he did the other day in the second test against Pakistan.

"The decision is out of my hands," Taylor said. "There won't be a lot of test talk over the next few months. I definitely won't be thinking about it either."

The option of McCullum would offer a more "out there" style of captaincy. His philosophy would embrace aggression and positivity more visibly than would Taylor's, purely down to his personality.

Wicketkeepers usually have a reasonably tactical eye for what's going on. Good ones are a solid sounding board for the captain.

McCullum won't be keeping, but that strain in him should still be active. Something of a punter, he's unlikely to die wondering.

New Zealand's first test assignment for the new leader will be two matches in Bangladesh, pencilled in for mid-May.

Captains' stats

New Zealand's longest-serving test captains:

Stephen Fleming: 80 tests, won 28, lost 27, drawn 25, winning percentage: 35 per cent

John R Reid: 34 tests, won 3, lost 18, drawn 13, winning percentage 8.82 per cent

Dan Vettori: 32 tests, won 6, lost 16, drawn 10, winning percentage 18.75 per cent

Geoff Howarth: 30 tests, won 11, lost 7, drawn 12, winning percentage 36.66 per cent

Vettori's test record:

As captain (32 tests):1917 runs at 39.12, 4 x 100, 9 x 50116 wickets at 33.38, 6 x 5inns

Not captain (72 tests):2242 runs at 25.19, 2 x 100, 13 x 50228 wickets at 34.2, 13 x 5inns