Buzz on the next edition of the Cricket World Cup is already on. The New Zealand team has been doing all it could to make themselves strong contender this time around.
The way the kiwis performed as a team against the Indians in the ongoing series on home soil is worth mentioning. That also makes them a team to watch out for when the big tournament draws closer.
But one man in the New Zealand side is experiencing the jitters as time passes. New Zealand’s former skipper Daniel Vettori is one man everyone in New Zealand would want to be present in the team when the quest for the World Cup begins.
There are many fans in the country who believe that he is a class act, and that he can lift any team just by his presence in the dressing room.
The reality that Vettori faces relates to fitness issues. His fitness will be debated when the nation’s team management would be sitting down to select the team for the upcoming tour to the West Indies. His selection will be important if he is gunning for a slot in the team for the world cup that comes later on.
Hurt, But Not Out
Vettori has been New Zealand’s most successful spinner, but injuries have presented him with a backseat as of late. Things haven’t been keeping well with him, and that would explain his recent meeting with the captain Brendon McCullum and coach Mike Hesson where he discussed his future.
It is being reported that Vettori has been asked to prove his fitness around the West Indies tour that gets underway in May. And when the nation gets ready to co-host World Cup by the beginning of 2015, Vettori would have to stake his claim with a fit body and mind.
Back injury has been his bane. He, of course, proved he is a fighter with his amazing performance at the Big Bash arena. But during that time, New Zealand found a worthy successor in Nathan McCullum.
Windies Tour
With the May tour of West Indies just a few months away, he has very little time to get back to shape and do what he is capable of doing best.
The team management has sent strong signals in this regard when he was told he wouldn’t be part of the World Twenty20 tourney that happens this March.
So, he will now have to prove that he is fit enough and raring to go in all three formats of the game. Talking from the nation’s perspective, coach Hesson believes fitness is non-negotiable. But he too expects Daniel Vettori to fight back into the team as he is really keen on donning the kiwi colors at big tournaments.
Testing Times
Though his replacement player is an ODI specialist, the Test format would call for someone like Vettori to be part of the line up. Hopefully, Vettori might know this much better than anyone else. We need to expect the New Zealand line up to have a place for Vettori by the time the World Cup clarion call is sounded.
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