Black Cap wonder

There is a strong argument that not since Vintcent van der Bijl 25 years ago has an overseas player fulfilled his Lord's brief quite so admirably as Scott Styris. Warmly remembered by the former New Zealand coach Steve Rixon as "a good old working-class man", Styris had certainly given his all by the time he returned home at the end of July: 30 first-class wickets at 24 and 382 runs at 25, nearly all of them explosive. Aptly enough, his final Championship act - until, it is hoped, the very tail end of the season - was to complete an innings win by taking five of the last six Glamorgan wickets.

Those figures do not quite chime with the claim the sturdy allrounder made during the last World Cup - "I am a batsman who bowls, always have been". But colleagues are apt to bear that out. "He's very positive, very mature and thoughtful," attests Ed Smith, who rates Styris alongside Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Symonds as the game's most "brutal" biffers. "With Kevin it's hand-eye coordination and with Symmo it's strength; with Scotty it's a bit of both."

That said, references to blacksmiths or rusticity are forbidden. A recent survey calculated that since 2001 Styris had a ratio of "in-control" shots in Tests of 86%, better than Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar.

Here, quite literally, is a chap breathing more easily: Styris recently had a long-standing nasal problem corrected - only one nostril had been functioning properly, hampering breathing and sleep. And the name? Finnish. "Dad has traced the genealogy back to something like 1600." RS

Moment of the month Shane Warne's figures during Middlesex's two-wicket win over Hampshire at Southgate: 29.4-4-108-2.