Doug Bracewell and Dean Brownlie's selections late last year showed that coach-selector John Wright is not afraid to back his hunches.
Wells (27), a product of Otago Boys' High School and the University-Grange club in Dunedin, would have been on few radars before he was named in the New Zealand XI for its practice match with Zimbabwe over the past three days in Gisborne.
Wright and national selection manager Kim Littlejohn factored in his batting numbers and figured he was worth a look.
Wells' Otago coach, Vaughan Johnson, rates his player and believes he is up to test cricket.
"I've always had the gut feel that Sam has the ability and skill to play at the next level," Johnson said yesterday.
"He's very organised in terms of his batting, he plays freely on the off and onside and I don't think he'd be out of his depth in test cricket."
A left-handed batsman and right-arm medium pacer, Wells is a batting all-rounder who bowls.
His first-class batting averages in the past two seasons are 59.75 and 40.16. After four Plunket Shield rounds this summer, he is scoring at 38, with three 50s in seven innings. Overall, he has hit two first-class 100s and nine 50s in 21 games, to go with 33 wickets at 34.27.
Wells took his opportunity against Zimbabwe too, hitting a brisk 65 from 85 balls in the New Zealand XI's first innings on Saturday.
Johnson confirmed Wells is no block and nurdle merchant.
He likes to play his shots.
"He doesn't squash the ball," he quipped. "He's got the ability to work the ball around into gaps and hit the bad ball for 4, which international players should be able to do."
The likelihood is that Wells and wicketkeeper Kruger van Wyk, who seems to have lost out to wicketkeeping rival B.J. Watling for the test gloves, will miss out in Napier this week.
Should Wells be picked, his provincial coach has no qualms that he would do a good job. So too the national coach.
"Sam is a talented allrounder and we are confident if the opportunity arises he will perform well at international level for New Zealand," Wright added.
Wright picked Brownlie for a couple of T20 internationals against Pakistan early last year, which did not pan out for the Canterbury batsman.
But he returned in style on the tour to Zimbabwe in October-November and was New Zealand's best batsman in the drawn two-test series with Australia in December, averaging 65.
Bracewell took five wickets on debut to help beat Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, then took a match-winning nine for 60 at Hobart to push New Zealand to a thrilling seven-run win over Australia.
Bracewell's first-class bowling average before the Zimbabwe tour was 42, but Wright saw something he liked.
Ditto Brownlie.
Wells may not make the XI this week in Napier, but mark the name down as someone in the Wright frame for the future.
