Daniel Vettori has been on the international scene so long it is sometimes hard to believe he has only recently crossed into his thirties.

The youngest man to play Test cricket for New Zealand, at the age of 18, he is one of only eight players to have managed the double of 300 Test wickets and 3000 runs.

With time on his side, he could one day creep up towards Hadlee's 431 Test dismissals, but to do that Vettori would need to avoid the stress fractures in his back that troubled him earlier in his career. He also cannot afford another form slump like the one he suffered in 2003-04.