KEY POINTS:
Iain O'Brien was a late starter in cricket but he's rapidly making up for lost time.
The Wellington bowler is a classic example of a bowler who has made the most of his abilities. In the space of a year he has risen to the top of the
New Zealand fast-medium bowling ladder, confirmed by his fine six for 75 in the West Indies first innings of the second test at Napier.
They are his best test figures and they have him 11th on the list of test wicket-takers this year.
What's more, his 37 wickets since January, at 19.72, have come at the best bowling average of the lot. Only two New Zealanders have reached 50 wickets in a calendar year - Richard Hadlee (86 at 17.43) in 1985 and Dan Vettori (52 at 25.38) this year.
Shane Warne holds the all-time record, 96 at 22.02 in 2005.
The last time a New Zealand fast-medium bowler took six wickets in a test innings was Shane Bond against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo in August 2005 - 25 tests ago.
O'Brien's is among the first names Vettori puts on his test-team line-up these days.
Why? Because he knows what he can expect from a 32-year-old who is relishing every moment of being a test cricketer.
He'll be accurate, energetic and most often he'll do what his captain asks, and any skipper will tell you the value of that sort of bowler.
O'Brien is also perhaps the most interesting member of the New Zealand team. He writes a highly popular blog. He is his own man and brings an air of confidence to the dressing room, another point Vettori likes about him.
He is a free thinker unafraid to talk about topics others might shy away from.
O'Brien talks of "dark places" and "demons" when his bowling is below par. He didn't play for Wellington until he was almost 25. A couple of times since making a premature and unsuccessful debut against Australia in March, 2005, he could have drifted out of the picture for good.
That he did not is testament to a man full of determination. He knows the axe is always around the corner, therefore the importance of continually making a contribution to the team cause is never far from his thoughts.
"The demons are always there, and you're only one, two or three bad spells away [from being dropped]," he said after his performance on Saturday.
At times he touched 140km/h in the West Indian innings. That's short of being seriously quick, but it's sharp enough to keep the batsmen awake.
"That was as consistent as I've ever bowled. The pace was up there, too. It was the quickest I've bowled in a continuous spell."
He liked that, too, after seeing himself described as a "medium pacer".
