 "Vettori")
Evergreen New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori joined cricket's exclusive 300 ODI wickets club today with two early dismissals in their World Cup match against Afghanistan in Napier.
He became the 12th player and first New Zealander to reach the milestone with the list headed by Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan (534) and Wasim Akram of Pakistan (502), the only two players to have breached the 500-wicket barrier.
Vettori started against Afghanistan on 298 wickets and claimed his first scalp when brought on in the third over to allow fast bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult to change ends.
With his first delivery he bowled opener Usman Ghani without scoring.
Vettori returned to the attack in the 12th over and 13 balls later Nawroz Mangal became his 300th victim when he was bowled for 27.
The 36-year-old Vettori has played 291 ODIs since first selected in 1997 and his 300 wickets are at an average 31.62.
The former captain has also scored 2,213 ODI runs, while at Test level he has 362 wickets and 4,531 runs.
