Daniel Vettori to mentor England spinners

Daniel Vettori is set to guide the England youngsters

Former New Zealand cricketer Daniel Vettori is all set to guide the spinners of the England cricket team. According to the reports on cricket.com.au, the Kiwi was officially included in the coaches list of the England Performance Programme (EPP).

The recently retired cricketer will lend his expertise to the English spin department which has some very talented spinners like Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and Samit Patel. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced that a talented bunch of spinners will seek guidance from Vettori in UAE and that he would also help the regular spinners in the ongoing series against Pakistan.

"Seven promising spinners will follow Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid and Samit Patel to the UAE this autumn, when their coaches on the England Performance Programme (EPP) will include the former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori. Vettori will join the group led by Andy Flower, in Dubai for 10 days in November," announced the ECB.

The legendary Kiwi spinner, who’s already mentored Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL and the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash, will be looking to hone the skills of the youngsters in the English team. Vettori has 667 international wickets to his name, in addition to 6000 plus runs, and is the leading wicket-taker in ODIs for the Kiwis.

Vettori’s addition as coach will significantly boost the confidence of the English batsmen, who are known to struggle against spinners from the sub-continent. England though will be glad about the fact that they won’t be encountering Pakistan’s star spinner Saeed Ajmal in the series. However, they will be still wary of the new spinner Zulfiqar Babar.

EPP chief spin bowling coach Peter Such was delighted with the signing of Vettori and said that the Kiwi’s experience will play a huge role in the team. "Daniel has been one of the most successful and respected spinners in world cricket for almost two decades, so we are delighted to add his considerable experience to the England Performance Programme this winter,” he said.

The 36-year-old recently retired from international cricket after the 2015 Cricket World Cup, in which his team lost in the finals against the mighty Australian team. After a majestic career spanning almost 18 years, Vettori will continue to spread and share his immense knowledge of the game with the young guns and will also carry on with his role as the coach of the Domestic T20 Teams.