The evocative images inspired by the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy form part of the BLACKCAPS motivation to win the series, says captain .
Vettori acknowledged overturning the 1-0 deficit from the Eden Park defeat on will be tough, but had strong faith in the BLACKCAPS to deliver. And with the competition providing the nations with an annual meeting, he felt it was an opportunity not to be wasted.
Talking at the captain’s pre-match press conference in Wellington, he explained the resonance of the names involved to the players. He said: “The names conjure up pretty good images: the Chappell family and the Hadlee family and what they’ve meant to Australia and New Zealand respectively.
“It’s exciting for us and we like the fact we get to play Australia once every year where as in the past it was every four years and sometimes even longer than that. We get the chance to test ourselves against the best and the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy has a lot of meaning for us and is something we want to hold on to.”
After falling behind in the series, the spinner admitted the situation was precarious and the next game in Wellington was a must-win affair.
“There is some pressure to perform,” he added. “It’s a situation where New Zealand cricket teams have done well in the past. When our backs against the wall it seems to be our forte and I’m hoping that will come out again.”
One of the positives to emerge from the defeat in Auckland was the consistent bowling performance of Vettori and . Acting in tandem mid-innings, the duo combined to remove the century partnership of Ricky Ponting and Simon Katich.
Vettori said: “Both of us have bowled pretty well for a long time now and we’ve done that job in the 20-40 over stage and it’s something we can rely on. We don’t want to get to over-reliant on it but it’s something we’ve done well.
“It’s our 10-20 overs is the period we really want to get right so that when me and Scott do come in we can continue to attack and it’s not a case of dragging everything back. We are getting there with that. I thought we started off really well with the ball and especially bowled really well.
“We need to work on that next period and probably go a touch harder at the Australians there, and then the period where Scott and me will hopefully be more effective.”
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