Agencies
Auckland, Mar 31: New Zealand supporters wait to greet their team at Auckland Airport.
New Zealand supporters wait to greet their team at Auckland Airport. Source: Getty Images
Veteran New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori has confirmed his retirement from all international cricket.
Vettori spoke about his decision at Auckland International Airport yesterday where a big crowd had gathered to welcome home the beaten Cricket World Cup finalists.
Vettori returned from a lengthy injury break to play at the World Cup, but said he wanted to spend more time with his young family and focus on Twenty20 coaching commitments.
“It was my last game for New Zealand, in the final, so it was a lovely way to finish,” he said.
“It would’ve been great to win, but I’m pretty proud of everyone, the way we’ve gone about things the last six weeks.”
Vettori said he was particularly grateful for the support he had received from Black Caps captain Brendon McCullum and coach Mike Hesson. “To be able to get back from a number of injuries … and to hopefully be a big contributing factor to us making that final, is something I’ll always treasure.”
He was hopeful the Black Caps had brought a new legion of fans into cricket with their style of play.
“That’s hopefully the legacy of this World Cup … hopefully some people have fallen in love with cricket, or fallen back in love with it. We’ve had so much support the whole way round, the guys have fed off that a lot. They’ve really enjoyed every aspect of it.” |
