Stage set for skipper's exit next year

DANIEL Vettori has again expressed his desire to stand down as national captain after next year's Cricket World Cup in Asia.

Early in 2009, Vettori shocked fans and pundits by suggesting he would quit as Black Caps skipper after the next World Cup.

In cricket, a year is a very long time but in a wide-ranging interview with Sunday News this week, Vettori, who took over the captaincy from Stephen Fleming in 2007, said he had not changed his mind.

"My original statement was that I planned to retire as captain after the next World Cup and at this stage I still stand by that," Vettori said.

"There's a lot of things that can happen but by that point in time I will have had four years in the job and that's long enough.

"Guys sometimes get sick of your message and they need a change. There's a number of capable people below me now who could step into that role. Brendon McCullum is one and Ross Taylor is another guy. Both have the potential to be captains of New Zealand."

But despite confirming he will surrender his captaincy duties, Vettori, who turns 31 this week, said he had no plans to retire from cricket altogether.

"I'd love to keep playing under the next captain," he said. "I'd love to, A, help them out and, B, go back to just being part of the team.

"I have no desire to retire after the next World Cup.

"I think I always envisaged trying to play until I was about 35 but things have changed dramatically on the cricketing landscape now.

"I still want to play for New Zealand as long as I can."

Meanwhile, in a positive boost for the Black Caps, Vettori revealed his troublesome shoulder injury has improved and said he would no longer miss any internationals this summer.

"I've just started throwing again which makes me think I've had a miraculous recovery," he said.

"Two weeks ago, I could barely throw the ball but now I feel like I'm almost back to full strength. I'm not sure what happened there. But what I can say is I won't be needing any rest for my shoulder."

With Bangladesh set to arrive in early February and Australia after that, Vettori said he had big goals for the rest of the summer.

"I still see big improvements for myself as a bowler," he said.

"I'm going through a similar period now that I went through with my batting where I'm trying to find ways to improve my bowling.

"I'm doing a lot of work with (bowling coach) Shane Jurgensen at the moment.

"I'm trying to turn the ball more and be more consistent and be more of a wicket-taker.

"Sometimes that gets lost and people just presume that you just turn up and play and that you never work between games.

"I've been playing a long time but every time I go to training, I try to find a way to get better and I hope that people appreciate that.

"That's a big motivation for me to become a better test bowler."

- © Fairfax NZ News