Daniel Vettori facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Daniel Vettori

Vettori in 2011 at Government House, Auckland
Personal information
Full name	Daniel Luca Vettori
Born	(1979-01-27) 27 January 1979 (age 46) Auckland, New Zealand
Batting	Left-handed
Bowling	Slow left-arm orthodox
Role	All-rounder
International information
National side	New Zealand (1997–2015)
Test debut (cap 200)	6 February 1997 v England
Last Test	26 November 2014 v Pakistan
ODI debut (cap 101)	25 March 1997 v Sri Lanka
Last ODI	29 March 2015 v Australia
ODI shirt no.	11
T20I debut (cap 25)	12 September 2007 v Kenya
Last T20I	5 December 2014 v Pakistan
T20I shirt no.	11
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1996/97–2014/15	Northern Districts
2003	Nottinghamshire
2006	Warwickshire
2008–2010	Delhi Daredevils
2009/10	Queensland
2011–2012	Royal Challengers Bangalore
2011/12–2014/15	Brisbane Heat
2014–2015	Jamaica Tallawahs
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 113 295 174 365 Runs scored 4,531 2,253 6,695 3,549 Batting average 30.00 17.33 29.62 20.16 100s/50s 6/23 0/4 9/34 2/10 Top score 140 83 140 138 Balls bowled 28,814 14,060 41,258 17,628 Wickets 362 305 565 387 Bowling average 34.36 31.71 31.82 30.98 5 wickets in innings 20 2 33 2 10 wickets in match 3 0 3 0 Best bowling 7/87 5/7 7/87 5/7 Catches/stumpings 58/– 88/– 98/– 121/–
Medal record Men's Cricket Representing  New Zealand ICC Cricket World Cup Runner-up 2015 Australia and New Zealand Commonwealth Games Bronze 1998 Kuala Lumpur
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 13 February 2016

Daniel Luca Vettori is a famous New Zealand cricket coach and former player. He played for the New Zealand national cricket team, also known as the Blackcaps. Daniel was the 200th player to earn his special "cap" for playing in a Test cricket match for New Zealand. He is also in the New Zealand Cricket Hall of Fame. Today, he works as an assistant coach for the Australia men's national cricket team.

Vettori was very young when he started playing Test cricket for New Zealand. He made his debut in February 1997 when he was just 18 years old. He later became the captain of the New Zealand team from 2007 to 2011. He holds the record for playing the most Test matches and One Day International (ODI) matches for New Zealand. He played 112 Test matches and 291 ODI matches.

Daniel Vettori was known as an All-rounder in cricket. This means he was good at both batting and bowling. He was a "slow left-arm orthodox spin bowler." This type of bowler makes the ball spin in a special way to trick the batsman. He was famous for being very accurate and clever with his bowling. He was one of only eight players in Test cricket history to take 300 wickets and score 3,000 runs.

He was also part of the New Zealand team that finished second in the 2015 Cricket World Cup. After that tournament, he stopped playing all forms of cricket. Since then, he has taken on many coaching roles.

Daniel Vettori's Cricket Journey

Daniel Vettori was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and grew up in Hamilton. When he first started playing cricket, he was a medium-pace bowler. But over time, he changed his style to become a left-arm spin bowler.

He started playing for his local team, Northern Districts, in 1996. His first international match was in February 1997 against England. At 18, he was the youngest man to play Test cricket for New Zealand at that time. Soon after, he took his first "five-wicket haul" against Sri Lanka. A five-wicket haul means a bowler takes five or more wickets in one innings.

It was quite unique to see Vettori play cricket wearing prescription spectacles. He was one of the few international sports stars to do so, especially in modern Test cricket.

Leading the Team: Captaincy

Before becoming the full-time captain in 2007, Vettori sometimes led the New Zealand team in ODI matches. He was chosen to captain New Zealand at the first ever Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa. After that, he became the official captain for all types of cricket games.

His time as captain started with a tough Test series loss in England. He was known for being very passionate on the field. He stepped down as captain and retired from One Day International and Twenty20 International cricket after the 2011 Cricket World Cup. However, he was called back to play in the ODI team for the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy and the 2015 Cricket World Cup. His very last Test match was in November 2014.

Bowling Achievements

Vettori playing a Test match in Dunedin during Pakistan's tour of New Zealand in 2009

In 2009, Vettori took his 300th Test wicket while playing in Sri Lanka. He was only the second New Zealander to achieve this, after the legendary Richard Hadlee. As of July 2025, his 362 Test wickets still rank second only to Hadlee for New Zealand. He is also New Zealand's top wicket-taker in One Day Internationals, with 297 wickets for his country.

Daniel Vettori was the first left-arm spin bowler in history to take more than 300 wickets in both Test matches and One Day Internationals. He was also the youngest player to reach 100 Test wickets, doing so by the age of 21. The International Cricket Council (ICC) recognized his talent by naming him in the World ODI XI team in 2005, 2008, and 2010. He was also part of the "Team of the Tournament" for the 2015 Cricket World Cup.

Vettori took 20 five-wicket hauls in Test matches. He also managed to take "ten wickets in a match" three times. His best bowling performance in a single innings was 7 wickets for 87 runs against Australia in 2000. In that same match, he took 12 wickets for 149 runs, which was the second-best performance by a New Zealander at the time. He also took 12 wickets against Bangladesh in 2004 and 10 against Sri Lanka in 2006. In One Day Internationals, he took two five-wicket hauls.

Daniel Vettori's Test Match Five-Wicket Hauls

No.	Date	Ground	Against	In.	O	R	W	Ref
1	14 March 1997	Hamilton	Sri Lanka	4	29.2	84	5
2	10 June 1998	Colombo	Sri Lanka	3	33	64	6
3	22 October 1999	Kanpur	India	2	55.1	127	6
4	11 March 2000	Auckland	Australia	1	25	62	5
5	11 March 2000	Auckland	Australia	3	35	87	7
6	22 November 2001	Hobart	Australia	1	36	138	5
7	30 November 2001	Perth	Australia	2	34.4	87	6
8	19 October 2004	Dhaka	Bangladesh	3	22	28	6
9	26 October 2004	Chittagong	Bangladesh	2	32.2	70	6
10	26 October 2004	Chittagong	Bangladesh	3	28.2	100	6
11	26 November 2004	Adelaide	Australia	1	55.2	152	5
12	10 March 2005	Christchurch	Australia	2	40.2	106	5
13	15 December 2006	Wellington	Sri Lanka	3	42.3	130	7
14	15 May 2008	Lord's, London	England	2	22.3	69	5
15	23 May 2008	Manchester	England	2	31	66	5
16	17 October 2008	Chittagong	Bangladesh	1	36	59	5
17	25 October 2008	Dhaka	Bangladesh	2	19	66	5
18	11 December 2008	Dunedin	West Indies	2	25	56	6
19	12 November 2010	Hyderabad	India	2	49.4	135	5
20	1 November 2011	Bulawayo	Zimbabwe	2	43	70	5

Daniel Vettori's ODI Five-Wicket Hauls

No.	Date	Ground	Against	In.	O	R	W	Ref
1	10 July 2004	Lord's, London	West Indies	2	9.2	30	5
2	31 December 2007	Queenstown	Bangladesh	1	6	7	5

Batting Skills

Vettori playing an ODI during India's tour of New Zealand in 2010

Besides his amazing bowling, Vettori also became a very good batsman. He scored more than 4,500 runs in Test matches, including six centuries. A century means scoring 100 runs or more in one innings. His highest Test score was 140 runs, which he made against Sri Lanka in August 2009.

Daniel Vettori's Test Match Centuries

No.	Score	Opponents	Venue	Date	Ref
1	137 not out	Pakistan	Hamilton	19 December 2003
2	127	Zimbabwe	Harare	7 August 2005
3	118	India	Hamilton	18 March 2009
4	140	Sri Lanka	Colombo	26 August 2009
5	134	Pakistan	Napier	11 December 2009
6	110	Pakistan	Wellington	15 January 2011

Life After Playing: Coaching Career

After retiring from playing, Daniel Vettori moved into coaching. He was the head coach for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League from 2014 to 2018. In July 2019, he was named head coach of the Dublin Chiefs for a new cricket tournament, but that tournament was later cancelled. In the same month, he became the spin bowling coach for the Bangladesh national team.

In August 2021, Vettori became the head coach of the Caribbean Premier League team, Barbados Royals. In May 2022, he was appointed as an assistant coach for the Australia men's national team, a role he continued in 2023. In August 2023, Vettori was appointed as the head coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League.

About Daniel Vettori

Daniel Vettori has Italian family roots. He married Mary O'Carroll in 2007, and they have three children. After getting married, he moved from Hamilton to Auckland.

In 2011, Daniel Vettori was given a special award called "Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit" for his great contributions to cricket. His first cousin, David Hill, is also a famous athlete who played rugby union for the All Blacks.

A book about Daniel Vettori's life, called Turning Point, was published in August 2008.