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New Zealand left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori says slow bowlers are under pressure as never before in one-day cricket due to power-plays.

As the Kiwis arrived in India for the Champions Trophy, Vettori said: “I am not a huge fan of it. Spinners have to bowl more defensively. One-day cricket now is high scoring, even more so with power plays. But the quality of spin is still great in the world with Harbhajan Singh, Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne.”

Before the mid-2005 ruling which allowed the fielding captain to select two five-over periods to act as powerplays - with 20 overs of fielding restrictions in all - only the first 15 overs of the game featured mandatory attacking fields. Now spinners are more likely to bowl without as many boundary fielders as they would like.

Vettori, 27, said: “I prefer to bowl in the middle of the innings as spin bowlers know what to do at that stage. But we have to come up with more variation. For example, left-arm spinners have an ability to take the ball away from the batsman. The key to being a spin bowler is to recognise the areas where you can attack. If you do not, you will be turned defensive.”

Vettori believes New Zealand are “one of those sides who can win the tournament.” He went on: “We have a very strong bowling and batting department and have also won the Champions Trophy in the past.”

New Zealand’s third match is against Pakistan on 25 October, in Mohali. “Playing Pakistan will be a great challenge,” said Vettori. “We have not played them for a long time outside New Zealand. We need to start off well and win it,” he added.
Source:The News