"His first [bowling] spell under pressure was pretty good," coach Mike Hesson said. "The wicket didn't turn a lot. If it grips, he's a different proposition. Turning it gives you more margin for error. He stuck at it well, fielded superbly and showed glimpses with the bat."
After two overs at The Oval overnight, Santner also held the upper hand. New Zealand needed wickets with England carving at will. Santner had played an unbeaten batting cameo of 15 from 11 balls in New Zealand's 398 for five.
He flighted the ball and Joe Root took the bait with the fourth delivery of his second over and was caught at mid-wicket and Alex Hales heaved at a delivery two balls later and was caught at deep mid-wicket.
Santner had 2-nine. Eoin Morgan then hit him for four sixes and his figures ballooned to 2-73 from seven overs.
At Hamilton Boys' High School, Santner decided his future lay in emulating Vettori. At 15, he changed from left-arm pace to orthodox spin, just as Vettori did.
Santner is a step ahead of Vettori on the academic front. Vettori enrolled in a university health sciences course with a view to becoming a pharmacist; Santner is into his third year of four studying for a mechanical engineering degree at Waikato University.
"I like thinking about how things are built and what goes into theory behind it," he says.
"I've always had an interest in maths, physics and chemistry, so it seemed the right thing to do."
However, his latest building project is a cricket career. He's taken the semester off for the purpose.
In a reciprocal touch, Vettori recognised Santner's talent as he came through the ND grades. Towards the end of his career, he dropped his name in dispatches when questions pondered who could fill his void.
Santner's name also popped up when occasional New Zealand spin mentor Paul Wiseman offered his vision of the future during the Pakistan tour last year.
A snap judgement suggests he unleashes crisp drives in the 'V', loops the ball up to batsmen with drift and fields athletically. He's quietly spoken, articulate, wears his cap reverse brim-style and refers to team-mates exclusively by surname.
"Vettori was an idol of mine," Santner says. "I watched a lot of him over the years but if I do half as good as he did it would be special.
"I was quite short at school, so it was tough to bowl seamers, and I was military medium so I thought, 'I'll give spin a crack' and haven't looked back. Everyone loves a left-arm spinner in New Zealand," he quips.
Santner first played for Hamilton aged 17 so has been involved in hard-nosed Hawke Cup and Fergus Hickey Rosebowl fixtures for years.
"Playing with older guys taught me a lot about growing up but, even at Hamilton Boys, Mr Kuggeleijn [his coach and the former New Zealand cricketer Chris] thought a lot about the game and developed your mental side.
"Eventually, I want to be a genuine all-rounder, so batting at No 6 is pretty cool, although it didn't go quite go to plan in the first match."
Santner made 15 from 23 balls, after coming to the wicket at 160-4. New Zealand needed 249 to win at 9.22 runs per over. It's hard to think of a more intimidating position for a debutant.
"Yeah, it was a case of needing to make a 100 off 50 balls," Santner laughs.
The all-rounder shapes as an archetypal selection in the Hesson coaching era. Expect him to be persevered with, much like Luke Ronchi, Corey Anderson, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell McClenaghan and Matt Henry.
"I've just got to pitch the ball up and give it a bit of air," he says. "That's why they picked me and it means they've got a bit of faith.
"I'm trying not to get caught up in the hype too much. Hopefully I'll just do my job and it pays off."
# Ford, the driving force behind the Black Caps
