Leeds: Spinner and former skipper Daniel Vettori ruled himself out of the second Test at Headingley, ensuring New Zealand will take on England with an all-pace attack from Friday. Vettori's decision to put the team first rather than play a 112th Test and become the sole New Zealand record-holder for caps, means fast bowler Doug Bracewell will complement a seam attack with Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner.
"It's a gamble but when you're 1-0 down you've got to take it," captain Brendon McCullum said on Thursday. He will keep wicket for the first time in nearly three years, taking over from the injured BJ Watling. McCullum stressed it was a one-off situation, and hoped to manage the back complaint which forced him to drop the gloves in 2010.
With Martin Guptill taking Watling's place in the lineup, the usual opener will bat at No. 6, followed by McCullum. New Zealand hoped that when Vettori joined them on Tuesday for the coming one-day series that he could replace the injured Bruce Martin. But Vettori's practices came up short. He hasn't played a Test since July, missing the tour of South Africa with an Achilles' complaint and the home series against England with ankle tendinitis. Lately, he was a mere net bowler in the Indian Premier League.
"He didn't scrub up that well today," McCullum said. "He gave it his best shot. He's not quite confident he'll be able to get through five days and didn't want
08:35 AM, May 24, 2013
Wellington: Former Test captain Daniel Vettori and top order batsman Martin Guptill have been recalled for New Zealand's tour of England in May and June after recovering from injury. Vettori, who has been battling a long-term Achilles injury, was included in the ODI squad that will also contest Champions Trophy in June, but not the Test side. The 34-year-old retired from limited-overs cricket following the 2011 World Cup in a...
08:13 AM, Apr 05, 2013
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12:24 PM, Feb 21, 2013
Rutherford and Southee are the replacements for injured duo of Martin Guptill and Mitchell McClenaghan. ...
09:44 AM, Feb 18, 2013
Brendon McCullum (69*)and Martin Guptill (27*) took New Zealand home with 7 balls to spare. ...
03:03 PM, Feb 17, 2013
Brendon McCullum's 74 lifted the hosts to a match-winning 192 at Seddon Park. ...
11:36 AM, Feb 12, 2013
Luke Wright hit a 20-ball 42 and took 2 for 29 as England took a series lead at Eden Park. ...
11:27 AM, Feb 09, 2013
Both teams have a crop of players yet to make their ODI debuts and this series offers a chance to assess whether their prospects are also looking positive ahead of the Champions Trophy. ...
02:44 PM, Jan 18, 2013
From record-breaking centuries that were later broken to belligerent returns and blitzkriegs in adversity, we sift through the list and come up with the most memorable knocks of the year in T20Is. ...
09:06 AM, Dec 30, 2012
We sift through the numbers, wickets and runs to pick the XI most valuable Twenty20 international cricketers of the year. ...
08:51 AM, Dec 30, 2012
Auckland needed a win to stay in contention for a place in the CLT20 semis but lost by 16 runs. ...
08:25 PM, Oct 23, 2012
"We always come out and play positive cricket. Luckily for us, the plan worked out today," said Guptill, who scored 53 in NZ's first innings. ...
06:59 PM, Aug 31, 2012
New Zealand reached 328 for 6 at the close of day one of the second Test, riding on skipper Ross Taylor's brilliant century. ...
11:51 AM, Aug 31, 2012
After restricting New Zealand for 351, West Indies cruised to 145 for no loss, riding on the blistering unbeaten half-century by Chris Gayle, at the end of the day two of the first Test. ...
07:42 PM, Jul 26, 2012
