Italian-origin Daniel Vettori (his middle name is Luca) would have been better off studying sociology. But he could play: Nasser Hussain was his first first-class and Test victim, and he became NZ's youngest cricketer at 18 years 10 days after only two first-class matches. He was the youngest spinner to 100 Test wickets (21 years 46 days) and reached 300 Test wickets in his 94th match. He could bat too, having scored six Test centuries. In 2007 he replaced Stephen Fleming as New Zealand's limited-overs captain and took on the role in all formats the next year. He led the side to the Champions Trophy final in 2009 and the World Cup semi-final in 2011 before stepping down from the post. He was plagued by injuries thereafter, an Achilles tendon condition keeping him out for long. In 2013, he declined a New Zealand Cricket contract due to uncertainty over his recovery from injury. But in the end, Vettori bowed out of international cricket in a pretty special way: after playing in the 2015 World Cup final in Melbourne against Australia.
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