West Indies trip crucial for Sodhi

The forthcoming West Indies tour will be a significant one for Ish Sodhi as it presents a chance to hold down the position as New Zealand's leading Test spinner, following Daniel Vettori's injury lay-off and Jeetan Patel's county commitments, writes Andrew Alderson in the Herald on Sunday.

Sodhi is less concerned about focusing on variations because he expects the Caribbean wickets to assist his stock ball. His practice has involved varying his position on the crease to change his angle and trajectory, as well as preparing to bowl at a left-hand heavy West Indies top order. He has also been actioning tips gleaned from his tutorial with Warne during the Boxing Day Ashes test which he described as "the best leg-spin session of my life".