Former Aussie rival becomes part of the post-Langer era

New Zealand cricket legend Daniel Vettori has gone from foe to friend, being appointed assistant coach of the Australian men’s cricket team.

The new era of Aussie cricket becomes a little more interesting, with former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori announced as assistant coach of the Australian men’s team.

The New Zealand cricket great is no stranger to Australian fans with Vettori’s slow left arm orthodox bowling and lower-order runs causing many headaches over the years.

43-year-old Vettori will begin his new role ahead of Australia’s Test series against Sri Lanka, the first series under new head coach Andrew McDonald, starting next month.

The Kiwi played 113 Tests and 295 ODIs for the Black Caps, taking more than 650 wickets and scoring nearly 7,000 runs.

After his last Test in 2014, the all-rounder stayed on for another 12 months in the ODI fold, before beginning to establish himself as a coach.

McDonald and Vettori played and coached together at Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, where McDonald ironically worked as an assistant under Vettori. 

In 2019, Vettori was appointed spin bowling coach of the Bangladesh men’s cricket team.

He has coached at numerous T20 franchises including the Dublin Chiefs, Barbados Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Middlesex and more familiarly the Brisbane Heat from 2015 to 2019.

More recently, Vettori coached the Birmingham Phoenix to The Hundred final last year.

During Australia’s recent tour of Pakistan, Vettori was involved for the white-ball series.

“I was really impressed with what I saw of the group in Pakistan in the way they approached preparation, planning and playing,” Vettori said in a statement announcing his new appointment. 

“It’s a very strong and unified group which has the potential to have a very rewarding and hopefully successful period ahead.”

Vettori will bring plenty of playing and coaching experience to the Australian cricket set-up. His brief as assistant coach includes overseeing Australia’s bowlers with their preparation, plans and workloads as both individuals and a collective. 

He will also be communicating with the domestic bowling coaches and speaking to them when bowlers return to their state teams or leave their state teams for the Australian set-up.

The spinners in and around the Aussie cricket squads will have the chance to learn from one of the greatest spin bowlers New Zealand has ever produced. But as a former international captain and head coach, his wisdom will stretch way further than just the art of spin.