New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori delivers vital message on AIDS

© UNICEF video

New Zealand cricketer Daniel Vettori supports Unite for Children. Unite against AIDS.

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 has teamed up with Unite for Children. Unite against AIDS. Here is one in a series of 10 profiles of well known cricketers who are supporting the campaign.

DANIEL VETTORI's professorial demeanour isn't simply down to the fact that he wears spectacles on the sportsfield. As New Zealand's leading spin bowler he is one of the most considered thinkers on the complex game that is cricket.

However, Daniel Vettori's horizons stretch far beyond the boundaries of the cricket pitch and that is why he has joined the International Cricket Council, UNAIDS and UNICEF in promoting the Unite for Children. Unite against Aids campaign.

In a recent interview he said: "I think it's an important cause especially in parts of the world where cricket is played and where HIV is prevalent. It's catastrophic to see the ways in which it has infiltrated into people's lives."

"If we as cricketers can help enlighten the cause a little bit then we're glad to," he added.

A vital message

Guile is a word often associated with the art of spin bowling and nowhere is it more appropriate than in describing Daniel Vettori. At the age of 18 he was New Zealand's youngest-ever Test player and was the fastest spin bowler of any nationality to take 100 wickets in test matches.

He has had to cope with long term and recurring injuries but in recent seasons he has been back to his clever and destructive best with the ball as well as making useful runs down the order with the bat.

He has been a vital figure to New Zealand cricket for over a decade and observers will expect his contribution to be a significant one in the up-coming World Cup in the West Indies. He will be hoping to spin New Zealand to victory but he'll also be delivering the vital message to Unite for Children. Unite against Aids.

Written and produced by Mont Tombleson