After the heady experience in the Indian Premier League, Daniel Vettori [Images] will be back in traditional whites as he leads the New Zealand [Images] side against England [Images] in the first Test at Lord's, starting from Thursday.

"I still see Test cricket as the pinnacle," Vettori told English daily The Independent ahead of the Test series. "But I'm a realist, and the New Zealand cricket team is not financially as secure as some other nations round the world."

Vettori was signed up by the Delhi Dareveils for US $ 625,000.

"Which was hugely surprising," he said, "but none of those guys was there just for the money. It was highly competitive, and it gave me a great insight into other cricketers from around the world.

"I'd played against Glenn McGrath for 11 years, but now I know what it's like to sit in a dressing room with him. As long as it's balanced with the Test and one-day programmes, it's great for the game.

"It's an exciting part of the cricket trilogy, and Brendon's innings [of 158 in the IPL's inaugural match last month] gave the competition the credibility it was crying out for. As a New Zealander I was really proud of him."

Ever since his exciting but matured entry into Test cricket at 18, the left-arm spinner was pitted as the future captain and he was fortunate to learn the tricks of the trade from one of the most astute minds in modern-day cricket-- Stephen Fleming [Images].

He said the most important lesson he learnt from Fleming was "his calmness".

"He never fluctuated with the emotion of the game, and that's important for a captain. With 10 other players riding the highs and lows, you can't have the man in charge doing that as well.

"I'm not quite as emotionless on the field, but that's more a bowling thing. There are a lot of similarities in the way we captain, but with him being a batter and me a bowler, there's a different dynamic. The greatest thing he did for me personally was let me captain my own bowling. He recognised that I had an innate understanding of my fields."

Vettori has also followed the success of England's Monty Panesar [Images] closely and was happy that the fellow left-arm spinner was doing well in the Test ranks.

"He keeps it simple, and it's nice to watch him. If he stays consistent he'll have a lot of success, and actually he can be a very good one-day bowler as well if he gets a prolonged run at it.

"It took me 50 one-dayers to learn how to bowl in one-day cricket."

Photograph: Getty Images