KEY POINTS:
Spin bowlers are at risk of becoming an endangered species in this country, Daniel Vettori says.
He yesterday warned of a bleak future for the New Zealand spin-bowler, saying it was difficult to see where the next crop was going to come from when our pitches continued to offer such an advantage to the pace bowlers.
Hardly required at the bowling crease during New Zealand's five-wicket win over Sri Lanka last week, the world's leading left-arm spinner is resigned to the probability of playing another low-key role in the second test starting tomorrow.
He didn't bowl a ball in the series against India in 2002-3 and - while he'll almost certainly wheel down some overs at the Basin Reserve over the next five days - history suggests that his services will not be in high demand.
"There's nothing to look forward to as a spinner in New Zealand," he said. "There's not a huge role to play on the pitches over here.
"It would be good if we had pitches on which everyone could play a role. But for me, personally, I haven't seen that in New Zealand for an extended period of time."
The 27-year-old New Zealand vice-captain said it was all very well winning tests at home with local seamers on sporting surfaces but it was almost impossible to repeat that success abroad without quality spinners.
He believed if New Zealand were to have any hope of winning on a consistent basis away from home, they needed to keep developing young spinners and that meant producing pitches that were less conducive to pace bowling.
"It does make it difficult when you're growing up and aspiring to become an international spin-bowler.
"I mean, what do you have to look forward to - seaming pitches and fast-bowler-friendly conditions.
"There's no doubt we need to be producing spinners. The only teams that win in places such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka or even Australia are teams with good spin bowlers.
"If you don't have one, you're not going to compete at the highest level."
Vettori has so far played 72 tests; taking 219 wickets at an average of 35.01. Of those 72 outings, 34 have been played at home - for a return of 87 wickets at 37.83.
He said being part of a winning team went some way towards dulling the disappointment of hardly bowling at Christchurch but he was nonetheless concerned about the future of his craft here.
"It's disappointing; it makes it tough being a spin-bowler, but I guess I get enough opportunities overseas to make up for it. I'd love to bowl more, I love to have the ball in my hand."
Tomorrow's offering at the Basin Reserve was yesterday looking unusually dry, so there is still a chance that Vettori will receive the sort of bowling spells he wants and that the seamers won't have it all their own way.
Curator Matt Sipthorpe, in contrast to Jade Stadium groundsman Chris Lewis, said the test strip would probably settle down quickly after providing some initial assistance and suggested the captain who won the toss should bat first.
"It's a lot harder than previous ones this season," said Sipthorpe, who was overseeing his first test pitch. "Because it has virtually had an uninterrupted preparation, we've been able to monitor moisture levels closely and are expecting no problems.
"We're probably a day ahead of our preparations but you've got to be like that with the Wellington weather. You just can't take any risks because it's so easy to get caught out."
