Daniel Vettori

Dan Vettori took over from Stephen Fleming as New Zealand's one-day captain at the start of the 2007-08 season. It is hard to believe, though, that the 28-year-old has been on the international scene now for 11 seasons. The youngest man to play Test cricket for New Zealand, at the age of 18, he sits beside Richard Hadlee and Chris Cairns as New Zealanders to take 200 Test wickets and score 2000 runs. With time on his side, he could one day creep up towards Hadlee's 431 Test dismissals. As a spin bowler, he is a master of drift and his subtle variations in flight, speed and length earned him a reputation as New Zealand's most dangerous player. It was that guile and ability to confuse the batsmen that sometimes turned what seemed like innocuous deliveries into unplayable hand-grenades by the time they reached the other end. He troubled Australia with 12 for 149 at Eden Park in March 2000, giving him his first ten-wicket Test. He continued to peak whenever he faced Australia and he also feasted against Bangladesh in 2004, taking 20 for 224 in the two-match rout.
He was recognised alongside Muttiah Muralitharan as one of the two best spinners outside Australia for the Super Series in 2005-06. Vettori was one of six players to represent the World XI in the Test and all three one-dayers.