Stylish Styris seizes the day with debut century

New Zealand's Scott Styris seized his chance to prove himself at Test level with a century against the West Indies on Saturday, less than a week after it seemed the opportunity had passed him by.

"I suppose I was a bit surprised because we'd just won our first ever Test in the West Indies and they changed the team. You don't change a winning team that often," Styris said.

Last week in Barbados, New Zealand won the first Test of the two-match series by a resounding 204 runs but the selectors brought Styris into the side in place of bowler Darryl Tuffey.

Long seen as a one-day specialist, the all-rounder's steadily improving batting credentials had brought him into contention for a Test place.

He was rewarded with a berth in the squad for the recent tour of Pakistan where he should have won his first Test cap.

However, a Karachi suicide bomb that cut the series short, exploded on the very morning that Styris was to have made his debut.

Styris admits that this was the point he thought that his chance had passed him by.

"When they named the Test squad for the [West Indies] tour, I wasn't in it but they had left one spot open.

"Whilst I was hoping to make that spot I sort of thought they didn't view me as a longer version player or they would have included me in the side," he said.

Styris worked hard in the five-match one-day series against West Indies to grab the one berth that was left vacant.

He turned in scores of 85 and 64 not out and produced a best-ever performance by a New Zealand one-day bowler with six for 25 off seven overs.

But the 27-year-old Northern Districts player was not in the team that clinched New Zealand's first ever Test win in the Caribbean last Monday.

CALLED UP

So the sweetness of victory was tempered by the belief that the dream of a Test place seemed to be fading.

To his own surprise, Stryris was called up and his masterful innings of 107 on Saturday lent support to his own argument that his batting credentials now outweigh his bowling.

Taking the crease when New Zealand were struggling on 208 for six, Styris produced a near-perfect mix of defensive and attacking strokes.

His favourite scoring shots were raking cuts through midwicket or straight drives that starved the West Indies fielders of wicket-taking chances.

He played a pivotal role in the middle order and forged valuable partnerships with Craig McMillan (48), Robbie Hart (56) and Shane Bond (49).

The result was a first innings total of 373 that piles the pressure on the West Indies batsmen.

Styris also has Shane Bond to thank, because the tail-ender stuck around for 54 balls and 17 runs of his own to help shower the debutant in glory.

Styris was eventually clean bowled by Adam Sanford to end the New Zealand innings.

His maiden Test century came off 170 balls and was decorated with eight fours and one six.

He also became the first batsman to score a century on Grenada's Queen's Park ground, which is the Caribbean's newest Test venue.

Mail Cricket Editor