Vettori looks ahead to tour of Sri Lanka on this week's ICC Cricket World audio show

On this week's ICC Cricket World audio show New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori says he's looking forward to the upcoming series in Sri Lanka but that it's going to be a tough contest as he and is team-mates come up against the likes of Muttiah Muralidaran and Ajantha Mendis.

However, the Black Caps all-rounder believes having had former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq join their ranks as a consultant, they are learning more and more on how to deal with spinners.

The 30-year-old said of the possibility of beating Sri Lanka on their own soil.

"It's certainly going to be a tough ask," he said. "I think we all know that Sri Lanka is playing pretty well. They got a pretty strong and experienced line-up. And their bowlers, I think, in particular have stepped up lately."

Of Mushtaq, Vettori said: "He's been a real help for some of the batsmen understanding the way that the Sri Lankan bowlers bowl and it's fortunate enough that he can bowl all the balls that Mendis bowls and Muralidaran bowls so he's given us a insight into that and he's able to articulate all his ideas really easily to the guys."

When asked whether he was aware of the statistic that he is seven wickets short of becoming the ninth player in history to score 3,000 Test runs and take 300 wickets, Vettori responded: "I'm very aware of it. I'm a statistically minded person so it is a real goal for me and hopefully I'll have a lot more years in Test cricket. There are some stats I'd like to achieve and hopefully I'll join some pretty esteemed company.

"I know Murali couldn't get 3,000 runs so that's one thing I'll have on him. There is competition but he's one of the greatest bowlers of all time so I don't put myself in that category. I enjoy watching him and competing against him."

The show can be used in whole or part by radio stations that want cricket content, while the public can also download it straight from the ICC website at http://www.icc-cricket.com/media_interactive_zone/podcast.php. Full-length versions of the interviews can also be found at www.icc-cricket.com.

This week's show also includes an interview with former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock at the launch of the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa.

Pollock gave his predictions for who will do well in the upcoming tournament. He said: "You know South Africa has played some very good one-day cricket of late. Australia will probably be the side you judge yourself against but they've waned a little bit particularly in the one-day format.

"So I'll definitely bank on South Africa to win it and I'll be very surprised if they didn't."

Apart from these interviews, this week's ICC Cricket World also includes the latest news from around the world as well as updates on the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings.

The weekly ICC Cricket World audio show runs for 15 minutes and has been put together by the ICC's global broadcast partner ESPN STAR Sports.