Cricket: Bracewell backs lacklustre spin king Vettori

Daniel Vettori, seen here bowling to AB de Villiers, fell to debutant Jeetan Patel. Picture / Reuters

CAPE TOWN - John Bracewell has leaped to the defence of spin-bowler Daniel Vettori after New Zealand's second test hopes foundered on a helpful pitch at Newlands this morning.

Vettori was supposed to be New Zealand's trump card on a wicket that was offering assistance, but could make little headway in the South African first innings and was virtually reduced to a defensive role.

Regarded as the world's best left-arm spinner, Vettori was even upstaged by debutante Jeetan Patel, who ended the innings with three for 117 off 42 overs, in the process promoting his chances of receiving more opportunities.

In contrast, Vettori's only success was a highly dubious leg-before decision against Hashim Amla, who was sent packing off an inside-edge, and the dismissal of tail-ender Dale Steyn - who rushed down the wicket and was comprehensively stumped.

It's been a long time between drinks for the Northern Districts left-armer, who took his most recent five-wicket bag against Australia in March last year, and has been struggling to retain his usual influence since, at least in terms of taking wickets.

However, Bracewell wouldn't accept that his vice-captain was under-performing, choosing instead to point to the gradual flattening of the pitch, the slowness of the turn, and the defensive mind-set of the South African batsmen.

"I think Dan's return was simply a reflection of the track," said Bracewell. "It was a difficult time for a left-armer; it was slow, and if you're getting slow turn you're better off bringing the ball into the batsman, rather than moving it away.

"You could see it was a hard track for the bowlers to penetrate on. As the ball became older the spin became less pronounced, the bowlers became more tired and the batsmen became more assured, which made things difficult in terms of wickets."

He said the other key factor was the ability of South African batsman Jacques Kallis, who he rated as one of the most difficult batsmen in the world to dismiss, especially when his intent was to occupy the crease.

"Kallis is probably one of the best defensive players in the world," Bracewell said. "He demonstrated that up north on a difficult pitch, and he did the same in this match, keeping the bowlers at bay for long periods."

South Africa lost wickets steadily last night and were eventually bowled out for 512 just after lunch, following Ashwell Prince's fourth test century and some defiant resistance from tail-enders Steyn and Makhaya Ntini.