It’s tough to give war-like connotations to a crucial cricketing showdown involving New Zealand, even if it is the Champions Trophy final against Australia. That’s because Kiwi skipper Daniel Vettori’s geeky looks, witty and unpretentious talk, and the feet-dragging walk don’t quite make him come across as a trigger-happy, tough task-master general.

With Ricky Ponting, the war references come easy. When he takes those hurried strides down the dressing room stairs in his golden yellow, it is not difficult to confuse him for a general in combat fatigue. After being the unquestionable captain of a world champion side for years now, he has developed a swagger and the words that emerge from the motor mouth always have an overriding tone of self-belief.

But like the rest of the world, the Aussie captain is aware that Vettori can’t be expected to give an inch on the field and his casualness is merely a front for a calculative mind. The Kiwi skipper has shown that captains don’t always have to be loud and cocky when energy-efficient calm and confidence can do the job.

And that’s why, though the Australians might have an overwhelming advantage in the conventional head-to-head comparison over New Zealand, it is almost level in the other head-to-head evaluation.

On Friday after New Zealand’s big win over Pakistan, where Vettori stood out with his all-round show, he spoke about his beliefs. “Captaincy in term of tactics is, at times, highly over-rated since most of the time it is all about performing on the field. If one does that, things become easy for the captain and, in turn, the team,” he said.

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