Cricket-New Zealand recall Guptill, Vettori for England tour

Daniel Vettori

WELLINGTON, (Reuters) – Former test captain Daniel Vettori and top order batsman Martin Guptill have been recalled for New Zealand’s tour of England in May and June after recovering from injury. Vettori, who has been battling a long-term Achilles injury, was included in the one-day squad that will also contest the one-day Champions Trophy in June but not the test side.

The 34-year-old retired from limited-overs cricket following the 2011 World Cup in a bid to prolong his test career but subsequently made himself available for the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka last year, having not played the shortest form of the game at international level for more than two years.
Vettori’s last one-day international was against Sri Lanka in the semi-final of the 2011 World Cup.

Daniel Vettori
Daniel Vettori

He will play in the lucrative Twenty20 competition in India before joining the New Zealand one-day side, who will assemble for three matches against England beginning on May 31 and then play the Champions Trophy from June 9. Guptill is recalled to the test and one-day squads after recovering from the thumb injury that forced him to miss the recent three-test series against England, which finished 0-0 after a thrilling final day last week. An aggressive opening batsman, Guptill has performed well in limited-overs cricket but struggled at the top of the order in the longer form against the major nations. With the emergence of Hamish Rutherford and resurgence of Peter Fulton in the England test series, Guptill could be forced to re-establish his test career from the middle order, possibly battling with Dean Brownlie for the role at number five.