Vettori retires from Twenty20 internationals

Left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori has confirmed that he will stand down from the New Zealand cricket captaincy, and also retire from Twenty20 cricket.

Speaking after his side’s five-wicket World Cup semi-final loss to Sri Lanka in Colombo on Tuesday, Vettori confirmed he would retire from T20 internationals, but said he hadn’t made a decision on his one-day future.

“It’s about six months to the next one-dayer so I have a lot of time to sit down and think about it and talk to my family. I may take a break but this mightn’t be my last one-dayer for New Zealand. I’ve played my last Twenty20 match though,” stuff.co.nz quoted Vettori, as saying.

“Tests are a big part of why I play the game, for team and myself, because there is no better feeling than winning a test,” he added.

While disappointed that New Zealand had failed to progress to the World Cup final, Vettori said he had seen enough from his players to give him confidence about the future.

“The batsmen are starting to develop and understand their roles. Of the players at this tournament, I was pleased with the likes of Ross Taylor, Jacob Oram and Tim Southee. Nathan McCullum, in particular, also grew as a bowler,” Vettori said.