To understand the return of Tarun Nethula in the Ford Trophy, one must comprehend the extent to which Nethula fell off a cliff during the first stanza of Plunket Shield. Consistently one of the best spinners in both formats, Nethula and Ajaz Patel went toe-to-toe for the most domestic wickets over the past few years and after two games this season, Nethula was cut from Auckland Aces with a lone wicket in three innings.

Back in the FT mix, Nethula took 4w @ 6.40rpo vs Central Districts. This included snaring Jesse Ryder lbw, skittling the stumps of the dangerous Josh Clarkson and having Tom Bruce caught; CD's three most dangerous batsmen. And with that, Nethula reminded us all that he's still a threat, especially when Auckland perhaps lack a genuine attacking weapon with the ball other than Nethula in the absence of Lockie Ferguson.

The return of Nethula sets the table for what is going to be an excessively funky battle between Aotearoa's spinners in FT and for selfish reasons, I'm hoping that none of these kiwi spinners get called up to the Blackcaps so we can see them do battle on an even FT playing field. Nethula's joined by fellow leggies Ish Sodhi (ND) and Todd Astle (Canterbury), plus Wellington's Peter Younghusband who could make a few waves if he can fight off Jeetan Patel for those spin overs - or a place in the side. Canterbury also have the offies of Tim Johnston and lefty Jeremy Benton, while CD have lefty Patel as their spinner and Otago relied heavily on lefty-leggy Michael Rippon in their opening game, playing without Mark Craig.

Of course, most teams have other spinners who play major roles or chime in when required and that's led by Otago who also relied heavily on Rob Nicol and Anaru Kitchen with all three spinners bowling their 10 overs in game one. Nicol and Kitchen also took more wickets than Rippon, but for the purpose of my spin-battle, I'm more concerned with players who earn selection because of their spin bowling; players who if they couldn't bowl, wouldn't be selected.

Nicol and Kitchen are joined as fine batsmen who spin, by Auckland's Mark Chapman who was tidy in 5.5ov with 2w @ 4.62rpo and Canterbury's Cole McConchie who offered Canterbury a fourth-spinner option with 1w in 2.3ov. These guys are always going to be a factor and the following their niche throughout the FT will be an interesting side-show given that they can be equally as threatening, if not more of a threat than the #1 spinners.

The three top-dawg leggies are where much of my attention will be focused and Nethula's early 4-for has him sitting at the top of the wicket-taking rankings. Astle took 3w @ 3.50rpo which included key wickets of Jimmy Neesham, Neil Broom and Anaru Kitchen vs Otago, while Sodhi got started with 2w @ 4.20rpo. Sodhi's also the holder of the FT crown, having taken 14w last season as well as having the lowest average (19.42) and he was the only spinner to average under 20; Astle, Nethula, Ajaz and Jeetan Patel all averaged over 30.

Low key note re Astle: Since that 4/22 vs India A, Astle took 3w in seven innings prior to this first FT game and didn't take a wicket in two innings vs West Indians. He has however hit back to back 50+ scores.

Based on last season, the bloke to watch is Tim Johnston as he also took 14w and averaged 23.07 last season, which also puts in him that bracket ahead of the veteran spinners. Johnston took 1w @ 3.90rpo vs Otago and the Johnston/Astle spin-duo gives Canterbury a funky edge, especially if they can get a few seamers fit during the FT.

It'll take a few rounds for the dust to settle and a true-blue leader of the pack to emerge, which could well be one of those second-tier spin options who proves to be a nightmare to score against. That's why this narrative is so fun to follow as it's not only a case of who is the best spinner in FT, this is also about what style of spinner performs the best and then what role they are doing for their team, along with if their team is actually winning cricket games.

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Peace and love 27.