30 Mar 2011

Vettori bows out as captain

6:45 pm on 30 March 2011

Daniel Vettori's tenure as New Zealand cricket captain is over following the team's elimination from the World Cup.

The Black Caps were beaten by five wickets by Sri Lanka in their semifinal in Colombo on Tuesday.

Vettori, 32, rated as one of the world's top all-rounders, had previously announced that the World Cup would be his last in charge of the national side.

Vice-captain Ross Taylor, who has already captained New Zealand in several games, is expected to take over.

During his three and a half years as skipper, Vettori led New Zealand in 32 Tests and won just six of them. But the Black Caps won 41 of the 82 one-day matches he led them in.

He will no longer play Twenty20 matches, he says, and is undecided about his future in the 50-over game, but will continue to be available for Test cricket.

New Zealand's next international tour is to Zimbabwe in October.