Vettori confident about smooth transition into whites
Daniel Vettori admitted to misreading the pitch at the AMI Stadium, which contributed to a close finish to the third ODI, but was pleased with his bowlers' performance
11-Feb-2010
Daniel Vettori: "I was reasonably happy with how we bowled" • Getty Images
With the ODI whitewash against Bangladesh complete, New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori is confident that his side can make the switch from the limited-overs version to Test cricket seamlessly, as they prepare for the first Test in Hamilton starting on Monday.
"It's just the nature of international cricket, good players are able to adapt from whatever form of the game you are playing in at the time," Vettori said. "It's the way cricket is going so if you want to be a good player you've got to turn up and expect to perform no matter what the discipline is."
After a hard-fought three-wicket win in the final ODI in Christchurch, which ensured the 3-0 scoreline, Vettori admitted to misreading the drop-in pitch at the AMI stadium.
"There were a lot more runs in that wicket, so for us to put ourselves under so much pressure was a little bit disappointing," Vettori said. "I still thought it was a 320 [wicket] once we saw how it started to play. I obviously got it wrong, with the toss because if it played that well then it was probably a bat first but that happens," Vettori said.
Vettori was also pleased with the performance of his bowling unit. "I was reasonably happy with how we bowled. I was pretty happy to only go for 40 in the last 10 [overs] and that was the area of concern from the last game. Tim Southee, in particular, was outstanding throughout his spell."
He explained that James Franklin, who was originally going to bat at No.5, had an injured heel which delayed his arrival at the crease. "Thankfully he could go out because he and Ian Butler were pretty composed at the end to bring it home for us," Vettori said.