Three games down for Canterbury in Aotearoa's glorious Plunket Shield, with three wins in the zip-lock baggy. Canterbury aren't the only unbeaten team though as Auckland Aces won their first two games before Mother Aotearoa rained all over their round three contest vs Central Districts Stags and that game was scratched. The third win for Canterbury came against Northern Districts Knights, with the Cantabs only required to bat once and they put up 266 before rolling the Knights for 113 and 121.

Given that disparity in game time, thus impacting the number of overs bowlers are enjoying, tapping into the individual rankings isn't the best task at this juncture. What is clear from the leading wicket-taker charts is that Canterbury's Will Williams and Fraser Sheat are both averaging less than 10 with the ball; Williams took 5w and 1w, Sheat took 4w and 5w vs ND Knights.

Will Williams: 18w @ 9.94avg/1.88rpo.

Fraser Sheat: 15w @ 9.93avg/2.42rpo.

The best insight I've settled on so far this summer is that Williams has a similar First Class bowling record to Kyle Jamieson and Sheat's got a better record that Jamieson, although Sheat has played fewer games. Here's how they all compare...

Will Williams: 28 games, 78w @ 22.69avg/2.47rpo.

Fraser Sheat:12 games, 51w @ 19.86avg/3.34rpo.

Kyle Jamieson: 29 games, 96w @ 23.85avg/3.14rpo.

That's not to say that Williams or Sheat should be in the Blackcaps like Jamieson, just a funky note to chuck in the conversation with your first slip homies. Last week I put the focus on Williams and I'll add to that with Williams dismissing BJ Watling in both innings; the first of which was a Watling slog near the end of the Knights first innings, then what seems to be a standard Williams delivery where his front-on action leans the ball into right handers.

There's a splash of funk in what Sheat is doing as this was his second game of the season and he only came into the Canterbury 1st 11 after Matt Henry went down injured. Sheat is currently on a five game/10 innings streak of wickets, taking 1+ wickets in all 10inns and 2+ wickets in 8inns, stretching back into last season when Sheat took 18w @ 20.38avg/3.19rpo.

Diving deeper into the Plunket Shield Lake Taupo: of the 11 bowlers who took 16+ wickets last summer, Sheat was the only bowler who bowled less than 120 overs.

That means that Sheat was perhaps the most efficient bowler of notable wicket-takers last summer and here he is again, steaming through all sorts of wickets for Canterbury. Sheat knocked the top off the Knights top order in the first innings, dismissing Henry Cooper, Jeet Raval and Joe Carter, before snaring Raval and Cooper again in the second innings. As I've pondered what is making William such a niggly customer to deal with, I'm in the same meditation with Sheat as appears to be an accurate, nibbler as opposed to the more eye-catching elements of others around Aotearoa.

Get Sheat on that off-stick and everything is ka pai...

Big up Canterbury because other than the rotten karma Henry deals with, their seam department is doing mighty mahi and this is probably a good time for the reminder that much of Jamieson's career was played at Canterbury. I head down this route because Daryl Mitchell's move to Canterbury from the Knights has seen him snatch wickets for giggles this season, taking 1w @ 1.92rpo in the first innings, then 3w @ 1.71rpo in the second.

That gives Mitchell 12w @ 13.25avg/2.38rpo for the season and in the context of Mitchell's career, that's an explosion of seam bowling funk. For seven consecutive seasons of FC cricket, Mitchell averaged 30+ and he took 10+ wickets just once - 2016/17 with 18w @ 30.38avg. Both Williams and Sheat are hearty Cantabs who have come through that system, making the Canterbury seam bowling connection rather obvious and now we have Mitchell who has hit a seam bowling nek level since arriving in Canterbury.

Ed Nuttall didn't play this game for Canterbury, after showing promising signs alongside Williams and Sheat in the previous two games. Nuttall currently has 8w @ 25avg/4.08rpo with his whippy lefty seam and since making his debut in 2011/12, Nuttall has played in nine seasons and his 25avg this season is one of three seasons with an average 25 or below. Checking these stats was a bit of a surprise as Nuttall's coming off three seasons averaging over 29 and while not quite on the Williams/Sheat level, Nuttall has followed the general trend of Canterbury's seamers finding a new wave this summer.

I'm also brewing a fascination with the spin situation in Aotearoa as no one gives a fuck about spin bowling right now. Canterbury's spinner Theo van Woerkom played vs ND Knights and didn't bowl an over, which is understandable with how Canterbury rolled the Knights, although this trend is evident throughout Aotearoa. Here's a break down of spin matters...

Brad Schmulian leads all spinners with 5w @ 10.80avg/1.75rpo in 30.5ov - that's good enough for 19th in wickets.

Ish Sodhi: 5w @ 29.40avg/3.37rpo in 45ov.

Michael Rippon: 4w @ 60.25avg/3.39rpo in 71ov.

Will Somerville: 2w @ 44avg/2.83rpo in 31ov.

Rachin Ravindra: 2w @ 46avg/3.70rpo in 24.5ov.

Cole McConchie: 1w @ 18avg/1.28rpo in 14ov.

Anaru Kitchen: 1w @ 83avg/2.67rpo in 31ov.

Michael Bracewell: 1w @ 87avg/4.20rpo in 20.4ov.

Joe Walker: 1w @ 95avg/2.37rpo in 40ov.

Theo van Woerkom: 0w @ 2.83rpo in 12ov.

With respect to all those spinners mentioned, Sodhi and Somerville are the only lads in the Blackcaps mix. Ajaz Patel is currently out injured and all of this is set upon a canvas where the Blackcaps Test team tends not operate with a spinner in Aotearoa.

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Peace and love.