Rightly or wrongly, you do get used to seeing former Black Caps captain Daniel Vettori in Australian colours.
And if Australia are to keep hold of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy later this week, you can bet the New Zealand great will have had some say in it.
Since 2022, Vettori has worked with Australia as an assistant coach to Andrew McDonald.
In that time, Australia have conquered close to all before them, winning the World Test Championship and ODI World Cup in 2023, either side of retaining the Ashes against England.
On top of that, Vettori has also tried his hand on the franchise circuit, with stints in the Indian Premier League with Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad – as well as the Caribbean Premier League with the Barbados Royals.
Because of that, when former Black Caps coach Gary Stead stood down earlier this year, it’s understood Vettori was approached by NZ Cricket to throw his name into the hat to succeed him.
However, given the freedom his current roles allow, Vettori decided against the chance to return to lead his former side.
Instead, Rob Walter was appointed New Zealand coach in all formats, and is so far unbeaten in his tenure with the Black Caps, even if that record will be heavily tested over the coming week.
“Anyone who’s in the coaching world, particularly for the likes of Brendon [McCullum], myself, Stephen [Fleming] and Shane Bond, who’ve played for New Zealand, that when those roles come up, there’s not an expectation, but conversations around that,” Vettori explained.
“But it just probably wouldn’t have worked for me, in terms of the lifestyle I have with the Australian team, and T20 stuff.
“I know Robbie pretty well, and he’s going to be able to carry on the excellent job that Steady did.”
What’s more, given the high density of cricket at both international and franchise levels, Vettori doesn’t see his position on head coaching changing in the near future.
“I’m quite content with things I have going on at the moment,” he continued. “Head coaching is all-encompassing. You don’t have the ability to step away from it at any time.
“Even when you’re off tour, the expectations on the head coach are immense.
“It’s not something I’m looking at, at the moment.”
Given the success Vettori has had with Australia, it’s not a surprise he’s not planning on leaving any time soon, either.
This summer will see Australia host England for five Ashes tests over the holiday period, as well as preparing for the Twenty20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka from February 2026.
Furthermore, according to all-rounder Marcus Stoinis, the former Kiwi captain’s presence is more than welcome, even if he is behind enemy lines.
“He’s such a great character,” said Stoinis. “He was such a great leader as well for New Zealand.
“He’s our bowling coach, he’s our assistant coach, he helps with the batters. He adds to the whole atmosphere of the group.
“Just being a good bloke as well, that makes it a lot easier.”
Instead, Vettori will now attempt to help his side keep hold of trans-Tasman cricket’s biggest prize, given the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy has been in Australian custody since 2020.
On that occasion, Australia won the series opening one day international in Sydney, before games two and three were cancelled by the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In that time, the series format has changed from ODIs to T20s, potentially closing the gap between the Black Caps and the 50-over world champions.
However, of the 14-strong Black Caps squad, only two – Matt Henry and Ish Sodhi – have won the Chappell-Hadlee in the past.
And even with cricket’s ecosystem now centred around the rivalries between Australia, England and India, Vettori outlines that the trans-Tasman encounters are still ones his team treasures.
“It’s a massive series,” he continued. “If I reflect back on my time with New Zealand, how important it was to come up against Australia and do well.
“Australia sees it exactly the same way. First of all, how strong the New Zealand team is, and then successful they’ve been over an extended period of time.
“We know any team in their home country is incredibly difficult. New Zealand presents that same challenge.”
As a player, few internationally can match what Vettori achieved in a black cap.
He’s one of only two players – along with India’s Kapil Dev – to score more than 4000 test runs along with taking 300 wickets, while his record of 437 matches for New Zealand across all formats is only bettered by Ross Taylor.
However, the great sadness for Vettori was that his retirement in 2015 came right before the Black Caps’ rise in all formats, where Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson separately led New Zealand through its golden generation.
In 2019, the Black Caps were beaten in the final of the 50-over World Cup, before making amends with the inaugural World Test Championship in 2021. The 2021 T20 World Cup final followed that, as well as reaching the decider in this year’s Champions Trophy, even if both ended in defeat.
Just because he was on the outside for it, though, doesn’t mean Vettori wasn’t able to enjoy what his former teammates were able to achieve.
“It’s been exceptional, it’s probably New Zealand’s greatest success in the history of the game.
“You think back to the World Test Championship, the ability to make multiple finals and be a presence in all three formats for such an extended period of time.
“You look at the individuals who’ve played in that time, we’ve got six or seven of our greatest players ever, playing at the same time.
“For me, while I haven’t been with Australia, it’s been a lot of fun to watch. Since I’ve been with the Australian team, there’s admiration about how they’ve gone about it and how successful they’ve been.”
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.