Is Daniel Vettori an all-rounder yet?

Not that he scored any runs today, but he did have a good game, taking 4-24, so we're justified in talking about him.

Is Daniel Vettori an all-rounder? He bats at nine and he averages more with the ball than he does with the bat, so most people would say he isn't.

On the other hand, he plays for New Zealand, for whom every player's essentially a number six or seven batsman. Somebody's got to be at nine, but they're not necessarily a tail-ender, like they would be for England, for example.

Daniel Vettori's hit two Test hundreds for one thing. Matthew Hoggard is highly unlikely to ever match this feat. Vettori's been playing a hell of a long time as well considering he's only 27. He made his debut at 18. It's no surprise that he's a better batsman now than then. What's his record over the last few years? On current form could he be an all-rounder?

In his last 30 Test matches, which seems a significant number - particularly for New Zealand who only play about two a year - Daniel Vettori has hit 1,378 runs at 38.27 with two hundreds and nine fifties. In the same period, he's taken 90 wickets at 34.93.

The verdict: All-rounder.

Also, he wears glasses, so he gets extra marks. You get extra marks for glasses and facial hair. This points system once led to Bill Bryson's selection for Yorkshire. Fortunately, a quick-thinking Yorkshire member cited his US nationality just in the nick of time. Americans can play for Yorkshire, but the resultant loss of marks meant he fell below Paul Jarvis in the reckoning and the disaster was averted.

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Tuesday, May 01, 2012


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3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I used to love it when Vettori looked like a proper student - shaggy hair bouncing wildly as he skipped in to bowl.

It was like watching the singer from Toploader.

5:06 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

...Only nothing got broken through impotent fury at his stupid, fake, American accent.

5:11 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think that the criteria for being classed as an all-rounder in New Zealand means that you should be eligible to play for the All Blacks too, doesn't it?

1:25 pm  

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