With the remarkable arrival of Jason Krejza on the international stage, Test cricket has gained one of its more colourful characters.

With the remarkable arrival of Jason Krejza on the international stage, Test cricket has gained one of its more colourful characters.

The 25-year-old off-spinner marked his Australian debut in Nagpur by claiming eight Indian wickets, only the seventh player in Test history to achieve such a feat. Given that he had previously failed to take even five wickets in an innings of any first-class match, Krejza's heroics are all the more remarkable.

His 8-215 will also have been greeted with surprise by some Scottish cricket followers who were left seriously underwhelmed following a largely disappointing stint with Greenock in 2005.

Krejza managed just 14 wickets in 13 matches, though two centuries did push his batting average close to the 50-mark before Leicestershire snapped him up for the closing weeks of the season.

If this was a timely vote of confidence, there were sound judges both at Glenpark and within Australian cricket's hierarchy who also recognised a talent that was worth nurturing. Jim Lepick, the Greenock president, who has remained in regular contact with the player nicknamed Krazy, declared: "It is fair to say that Jason was not the most successful professional we have ever had.

"The wickets didn't suit his style of bowling but he made up for that with his prowess with the bat and with his gregarious nature. When he came over, we assumed his nickname Krazy was a play on his surname but we quickly realised it should really have been spelt with a C.

"He was a young man who followed in the great traditions of Australian socialisers."

That may be something of an understatement about a player who a year ago was banned for drink driving in Sydney and was subsequently shown the door by New South Wales. However, Krejza, whose father was a professional footballer from the Czech Republic, was given a second chance in Tasmania where Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain, took him under his wing.

Lepick, who emailed a message of congratulation to Krejza last night, added: "Jason's arrival at Tasmania and elevation to the international side is very much a Ponting punt. He is a genuinely talented bowler and a big spinner of the ball who is a potential match-winner. I'm personally delighted for him and I'd like to think this is the start of a successful international career for Jason."

It certainly looks like it if yesterday's game is anything to go by. The remarkable wicket count came in a flurry, as Krejza took five wickets in the space of 26 balls in his post-lunch spell.

"It's a bit of a blur still," said Krejza. "I tried to keep doing what I was doing. I was happy to get the wickets. It's still unbelievable to me. It was an important session this morning, we wanted to get a couple of wickets earlier, but it's definitely swung back into our favour."

Krejza was chosen to exploit the spin-friendly conditions as Australia bid to avoid their first series defeat in three years. "It's incredible. It's still pretty unbelievable, against the best players of spin in the world," he said.

Among his victims were Rahul Dravid, Vangipurappu Laxman, Virender Sehwag and Saurav Ganguly, four of India's top batsmen, and his rise comes at a time when Australia are struggling to find a replacement for the retired Shane Warne.

He also entered the record books for conceding the most runs (215) by a Test debutant. "I think that's what good about Ricky Ponting, a lot of spinners would have got taken off," he said of the captain.