Vettori asks not to write off ‘determined’ Martin yet

Concerned over the lack of form of fast bowler Chris Martin, New Zealand skipper and selector, Daniel Vettori, has asked people not to write off the pacer yet.

Martin's overall figures across the six tests this summer were 16 wickets at an average of 47.93. "I hope people don't write his obituary just yet. I know he is determined to play for a while longer. He wants 200 Test wickets and the next Test match is not for six months [Bangladesh] so I'm really confident Chris Martin can be in the mix with the fast bowlers," Vettori said.

Martin sits fourth on the New Zealand Test-wicket table with 181 scalps, ahead of him only Richard Hadlee (431), Vettori (325) and Chris Cairns (218), 'Stuff.co.nz' reports. But age appears to be catching up with him because there was a definite lack of spring in his body in Hamilton.

"I know he wants to and is desperate to keep playing. He is not pleased with his performance in this test match and hopefully that makes him hungry to get better and get stronger for next season," Vettori said.

Vettori is also backing Wellington off spinner Jeetan Patel, who has struggled this summer and took 2-170 in the second test in Hamilton. Vettori indicated other spinners Nathan McCullum and Luke Woodcock were still behind him in the test queue.

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