-
Black Caps skipper Daniel Vettori - Source: Photosport -
Related
Picturing life before Daniel Vettori is nearly as difficult as picturing life after him.
It's almost thirteen years since Vettori - "a shaggy-haired, bespectacled left-arm spinner with only two first-class matches behind him", according to Wisden - first donned the whites in the second Test against England in Wellington in 1997.
Back then, Jim Bolger was the Prime Minister, Blair Pocock was one half of the opening batting combination, Tim Southee was at home flicking between the cricket and Son of a Gunn (probably) and for all anyone knew, Duckworth and Lewis was the name of a successful '80s pop group.
Vettori looked as surprised as the rest of us to be playing Test cricket. But not as shocked as England stalwart Nasser Hussain, who - having ground out a typically doughty 64 - prodded a fizzing delivery to short leg to give New Zealand's youngest ever Test cricketer his first wicket.
Fittingly, Vettori's 300th Test scalp was no less illustrious than his first. For the best part of two hours on Wednesday, he engaged the world's best batsman, Kumar Sangakkara, in an enthralling game of cat and mouse.
Bouyed by taking a wicket with his second ball of the innings, Vettori teased and tempted his opposite number, employing trademark variations of pace and flight that have left many a reputable batsman fanning at thin air.
Sangakkara bided his time, knowing the conditions and match situation were in his favour. But eventually someone had to make a move and he did, first stepping out to loft Vettori over mid-on then going down on one knee to thwack an overpitched delivery into the mid-wicket hoardings.
Lesser bowlers would've backed down at the first sign of confrontation; instead, Vettori sensed his moment. Two balls later Sangakkara's eyes again lit up at the sight of a full-pitched delivery, but this time he was beaten in flight and could only miscue a sweep straight down square leg's throat. He shuffled off, cursing his folly.
Vettori's celebrations were as perfunctory as ever. The trademark roar of delight, a few high fives, then he was back into his rhythm, plotting his next wicket with the same calm, methodical approach that had brought him the previous 300.
After all, despite his claims not to be interested in the business of statistics, most anecdotal evidence suggests the opposite is true. Vettori is a fierce competitor and somewhere at the back of his head, he will know he has an opportunity to venture into the great statistical unknown.
A career double of 3000 runs and 300 wickets already place him in rare company. Barring injury, it seems a formality that he will become just the second player after Kapil Dev to complete the 4000 runs/400 wickets double.
But given that he presently seems at the peak of his powers with both bat and ball, does he dare dream of becoming the sole member of the 5000/500 club?
Just reaching one of the two milestones is an exceptional feat. There are just 75 batsmen with more than 5000 Test runs to their name, while a mere five bowlers have surpassed 500 wickets.
It's a tough proposition, but one not entirely beyond the New Zealand skipper's reach. At 30 he still has plenty of good years left in him - Shane Warne and Anil Kumble played beyond their 37th birthdays, while Muttiah Muralitharan is as deadly as ever at the same age.
From a batting standpoint, current form suggests he'll cruise pass 5000 runs in as little as three years' time. Going on his past bowling record, he will need another 50-60 Tests - roughly seven or eight years - but in his favour is that the chronic back problems appear well behind him, and he's taking wickets at as regular a rate as he has managed any time in the past.
What should provide Vettori with added motivation is that he would be the first - and quite possibly the last - cricketer to reach the milestone in the game's 130-year history.
The evergreen Jacques Kallis aside, longevity is not a hallmark of modern all-rounders. The heavy workload of the modern game is steadily reducing the Test all-rounder to an endangered species. Naturally, the demands of playing three forms of international cricket on top of domestic duties takes its toll most heavily on those proficient at both disciplines.
We've already seen how the filthy lucre of the Indian Premier League has affected cricketers' priorities. Testament to this is Andrew Flintoff's recent retirement from Tests to prolong his career in the shorter forms. Chris Cairns and Shaun Pollock are two other modern days all-rounders whose bodies succumbed prematurely to the rigours of batting and bowling.
Of the younger generation, Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Broad could develop into world class all-rounders but, notwithstanding that pacemen are more disposed to injury than spinners, their heavy workloads have already conspired to harm form and fitness.
The quintuple-double is a long way off for Vettori yet. But time, form and fitness are on his side, and no one would begrudge a player who has matured from boy to man in front of the nation to end his career as a true legend of the game.
Do you think Daniel Vettori could be the sole member of the 5000/500 club? Feel free to comment below.
Add a Comment:
Post new commentThe Slickster said on 2009-08-28 @ 12:52 NZDT: Report abusive post
It really depends on how long he wants to play for. Sure if he plays to 38 it is possible but who knows what the lure of T20 will be by then - nice thought though.