Daniel Vettori quits as New Zealand's Test captain

Daniel Vettori quits as New Zealand's Test captain

Wellington: New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori has announced that he is relinquishing his Test captaincy. The move came after the Black Caps lost the Test series 1-0 to Pakistan, after failing to win the second match at the Basin Reserve. The bespectacled spinner led New Zealand in 32 Tests.

The 31-year old also reiterated that he would be stepping down after the 2011 cricket World Cup, and that there was no way he was going to reconsider the decision,"I made that decision three and a half years ago. So that's it. My timing was always to finish after the World Cup and that stays the same."

Vettori didn't have a great run as captain, as New Zealand won just six Tests under him in three years. The Kiwis lost eighteen Tests and drew thirteen, losing nine series out of thirteen. While Vettori admitted that there were regrets, he made it clear that he gave it his all,"There are always regrets, you always want to perform better. But I can walk away from the captaincy thinking that I gave it everything, particularly with my performance."

Vettori also chose to look at the positives, singling out victories under his reign,"The Test win against England and the Test win against Pakistan last year were highlights. Just seeing a group of young guys come into the team. It's a vastly different outfit from the one I started captaining and I think there are some really talented players there.

Despite quitting as captain, Vettori confirmed that he would continue to play Test cricket,"Test cricket is the part of the game I love. I want to play for as long as I can. There are still a lot of things I want to achieve, so there's no way I'm stepping away from Test cricket."

Source: India Syndicate

2nd test drawn, Pakistan clinch series win vs NZ

Pakistan clinched a 1-0 series win and its first test series victory for five years by securing a draw against New Zealand in the second test which ended Wednesday.

Chasing 274 for victory on the final day, Pakistan looked well placed to push for a 2-0 series clean sweep when it moved to 160-4 at tea.

However, Pakistan was unwilling to risk a rare series victory and took a no-risk approach in the final session to ensure a draw. New Zealand took three wickets in the opening session to boost chances of a rare win of its own, but Younis Khan (81) and captain Misbah-ul-Haq (70 not out) ground out patient innings to deny the home team.

"We saw the series as more important than this test," Misbah said at the post-game presentation.

"Younis Khan batted well in both innings and Umar Gul did well in the last test, but everybody is contributing and that's really good to see."

The series win provided an overdue return of pride to Pakistan cricket, which had seen its international reputation further tarnished since its previous series victory against the West Indies in 2006.

It had been immersed in yet another corruption scandal arising from its tour of England last year - which deprived the team of key players for this series - while also being stripped of its co-hosting role in next month's World Cup due to security failures.

New Zealand remains stuck in a rut of poor performances and will be hoping for a form turnaround in the upcoming one-day games to deliver some confidence and optimism ahead of the World Cup.

"We couldn't quite play catch-up in this test and that is because Pakistan were on top after Hamilton," said captain Daniel Vettori, who was able to take only one wicket in 34 overs on the final day when much of his team's hopes rested on his arm.

"We now focus on getting our combinations right for the one-dayers and the World Cup."

Source: Indian Express