Trent Boult was destined to be an international cricketer from a young age.
His ability as a left-armer to swing the ball at pace is a rare thing. Even rarer was his determination to succeed which, coupled with fortunate genetics, gave him the ideal basis to be a quick bowler.
But even Boult will be surprised at how quickly he has cut a path through test cricket's bowling records.
On Monday in Hamilton, the 28-year-old took his 200th test wicket in his 52nd test. He became just the fifth left-arm pace bowler in the game's history to take 200 or more test wickets. Those ahead of him are true legends of the game in Wasim Akram (414 wickets), Chaminda Vaas (355), Mitchell Johnson (313) and Zaheer Khan (311).
In the New Zealand pecking order behind the peerless Sir Richard Hadlee (431), Boult is the sixth highest but well-placed to eventually end up second ahead of Daniel Vettori.