OTD| Daniel Vettori became the youngest player to represent New Zealand in Test Cricket in 1997

On this day the former New Zealand captain, Daniel Vettori, made his debut in international cricket. At the age of 18, he became the youngest player to represent New Zealand in Test cricket. The talented spin all-rounder played his maiden Test match for his country against England in Wellington. 

Underwhelming Start

The prodigious Daniel Vettori had a very underwhelming start to his international career. The home side elected to bat first upon winning the toss. However, England bamboozled the hosts to bowl them out for just 124 runs. In the second innings, England batted well to get a massive lead. The visitors scored 383 runs courtesy of a century from Graham Thorpe. 

The debutant Daniel Vettori managed to open his account in international cricket as he picked up a couple of wickets in his long spell. He dismissed Nasser Hussain and Andy Caddick in the first innings. New Zealand eventually could not overcome the lead that England had registered and lost the match by an innings and 68 runs. 

An inspiring career

It was certainly an underwhelming start for Daniel Vettori in international cricket as New Zealand could not win that match but the debutant was going to be a central figure in the evolution of New Zealand cricket. He ended up being one of the best all-rounders of all time. Daniel Vettori represented the Kiwis in 113 Tests and 295 One-Day internationals along with 34 T20Is. Over his long international career, Vettori picked up more than 600 wickets and achieved a legendary stature in New Zealand cricket. 

Not just as a player but he was also valuable for the Kiwis as a captain. In his playing days, his team was going through a phase of transition and Vettori led his team through that testing phase to hand over the mantle to the next lot of players. He will always remain a significant name in New Zealand cricket as his contributions are unparalleled.