New Zealand cricket captain Brendon McCullum is sharing in the success of good mate Daniel Vettori at the World Cup.

As well his 12 wickets, Vettori has shown his ability to tie down batsmen with an economy rate of 3.00, the best of any bowler who has delivered more than five overs in the tournament.

In New Zealand’s last outing, the 36-year-old left-arm spinner was man-of-the-match against Afghanistan with 4-18 from his 10 overs.

A more significant contribution came against Australia, when his introduction stemmed the flow of early runs and helped set up what became a nail-biting one-wicket win.

McCullum says Vettori’s experience is coming to the fore in the World Cup.

“He’s referred to as a bit of a wizard from teams over in Australia,” McCullum said.

“His art and his ability to read a game and use subtle change of pace is something which I think not too many other guys around the world have.”

Vettori holds the record for the youngest player to represent New Zealand, making his Test debut at 18 against England in February 1997.

His 362 Test wickets is second among New Zealanders behind Sir Richard Hadlee’s 431.

Against Afghanistan, Vettori became the first Black Cap to 300 ODI wickets.

The former skipper’s inclusion in the World Cup squad came after a fight-back from injuries.

When he appeared against South Africa in an ODI in Mt Maunganui in October, it was his first match for New Zealand for 16 months.

“I think what we’ve seen is a guy who’s gone away, worked incredibly hard on his fitness, and still has the drive to be part of the New Zealand team,” McCullum said.

“Now we watch him in the field and he’s running around as if he’s one of the youngsters in the group.”

Apart from being “a huge player”, Vettori as “a good man”, McCullum said.

“He’s one of my close mates as well,” he said.

“We’re teammates now even after cricket is finished. He’s one of those guys that you’ll spend a lot of time with.”