Vettori refreshed and ready for action

Star left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori is rested and invigorated and excited about the prospect of joining the New Zealand team on their Test tour of Pakistan next week.

The TelstraClear Black Cap has been seen and assessed after his rest period while the New Zealand one-day team were in Sharjah.

He said that after the England series he was more tired than anything else after what had been "a long, long summer."

"At the end of the England series Craig McMillan and I were the only two who had played every game of the summer, and I see he fell over before the last game in Sharjah. It was a bit like last man standing," Vettori quipped.

The 18 One-Day International programme and all the travel associated with it had really knocked him around and he had been thankful for the rest. He has had no problems with his back.

"The travel gets to you."

However, he said it only took a week to get over it and he was looking to get back into action quickly.

"I am excited about going to Pakistan. It will be quite tough over there. They have a good team at the moment and there are no warm-up games.

"I am expecting the wickets will be reasonably flat," he said.

While the rest of the year looks reasonably hectic, Vettori said he thought the schedule was a good one.

The team had some time off before the West Indies tour and then a couple of months off before the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka and then the home series against India before the World Cup.

Vettori, who is sitting on 130 Test wickets, is looking at the 150 mark as his next goal.