This week BLACKCAPS captain Daniel Vettori will reach his 100th Test. He’s played along side and against some of the best players in the world - Vettori is now considered one of them.
He made his Test debut under the watchful eye of the 1997 BLACKCAPS captain and current CEO of Canterbury Cricket, Lee Germon.
Germon said he was very impressed with the young Northern Knights player and knew he was destined for big things. “I knew very little about him and had not faced him in any matches,” he said. “When he arrived he fitted into the team very smoothly – he was quiet and studious and had a maturity beyond his years.”
Vettori was the only player in the team to be born in the 1980s, but that didn’t stop the talented spin bowler from making an immediate impression with him team mates. Germon said the youngster fitted in well to the team environment. “Daniel was a very popular member of the team and he had his feet firmly on the ground despite the adulation that comes with playing for New Zealand at a very young age.”
He brought an intelligence which impressed Germon. “I remember he had a very clear idea on how he was going to bowl and the fields he wanted to bowl to which was quite unusual for a player of his experience and age,” he described. “There was the talent, intelligence and a willingness to learn that signalled a very good playing future for him.
“At the time I recall thinking he had the makings of a captain.”
Germon, like the rest of the country has witnessed the gifted spin bowler grow from being a junior within the team into an international, world class player. “Off the field he has gained confidence while maintaining his intellectual appreciation of the game and willingness to improve. He has grown into a leadership role exceptionally well”.
