It's not very often that you find a post doctoral student coming back to the library to brush up on what he learnt at high school. It's not often that you round up a bunch of Test and One-Day cricketers and send them abroad on an A tour to play a tournament that is not even first class. Well, for the New Zealand A team taking part in the MRF Buchi Babu Tournament in Chennai, it's not a particularly new experience - it's something they've done before. And for Kiwi off spinner Paul Wiseman, it certainly isn't new - he toured India with the Test team in 1999.

"I really enjoy India. Last time I was here, I learnt more in the six week period I was here than in any other six week period in my life", began Wiseman, speaking to CricInfo at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, where the New Zealand A team is playing its second match in India. "It's always good to come back to a place that is such a good learning ground," he continued.

In the two Test matches Wiseman played in India then, he picked up two wickets, giving away 205 runs in all. A clear indication that the wickets in India offered a bit of assistance to the slow men, but that wasn't the whole story. "It is good to come over here and bowl spin. The wickets offer a lot of assistance, but on the flip side, the Indian batsmen play spin better than anyone else in the world, so it's a real challenge as well."

Despite being a team that has traditionally relied on seam rather than spin, New Zealand now boast probably the best left-arm spinner in the world. "Vettori is probably the best left-arm spinner in the world. We've done pretty well together - although we haven't bowled together as much as we would have liked. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, it would be good to get together and have a crack at the batsmen," explains Wiseman.

Although perhaps not yet in the same class as Vettori, Wiseman is no stranger to success. His Test debut, versus Sri Lanka at Colombo in 1997-98 was a high point. "It was a very special moment, something that I was looking forward to, and even preparing for from very early on in my cricketing career. My five wicket bag coincided with my dad's birthday and he's been my biggest fan over the years. I think it was a record haul too - seven in the game for a New Zealander on debut."

The recent success of the likes of Saqlain Mushtaq, Muthiah Muralitharan and Harbhajan Singh has been a shot in the arm for off spinners around the world. Wiseman however, is not one to get carried away. "It's very encouraging to see so many off spinners coming through. But I think the art of off spin has changed a bit in recent times. All the Asian off spinners can turn the ball away from the right hander, and that gives them a huge advantage. Just having the ball that goes the other way can turn a good off spinner into a great one," says Wiseman.

In naming 12 players for the tour to Pakistan, the New Zeland selectors have left a window of hope for both the stumper and the off spinner. "If I do well in the next couple of weeks and put pressure on the selectors, then yes, I've got a good shot at a place in the national side," says a guardedly optimistic Wiseman.

When the Kiwis were down in 1999, manager Jeff Crowe took it upon himself to do all he could to make sure the team were happy tourists. This is something that Wiseman seems to have imbibed, and is certainly something that will hold him in good stead. "We've been looked after very well over here. Some of the guys love Indian food as well, which certainly helps. The heat is certainly a challenge, but we don't talk about it much as there's nothing really anyone can do about it," said a grinning Wiseman.

"I remember playing in Ahmedabad at about 49 degrees centigrade two years ago. I mean if you've got an upset stomach, you're up all night and nothing in the stomach the next day and Sachin Tendulkar is getting a double hundred on the flattest wicket in the world... You think to yourself, it's not going to get any harder than this!"

Wiseman is quick to acknowledge his biggest influence. "My biggest influence without doubt was John Bracewell. He got hold of me at a very early age and was my coach for Auckland as well. It's been disappointing for me that he has gone overseas to coach... " said Wiseman, adding quickly, that it was not a coincidence that New Zealand has failed to produce too many top class spinners. "You have to recognise that wickets back home have been produced basically for seam bowling but this is changing now. This means that you don't have just mediocre medium pacers getting wickets all the time. There's a bit in it for everyone, but the seamers have to work hard as well."

Test cricketers or not, the New Zealand A team are not taking the MRF Buchi Babu Tournament lightly. "We've come here to win, that's very clear. You certainly learn a bit from losing too, but if you've got a winning team under the national team, it really puts pressure on the selectors and the members of the national team," ended Wiseman. A good showing here in India could pitchfork him into the limelight, and that is exactly what Wiseman is hoping for.

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