The common refrain that spinners mature with age might go out the window if Daniel Luca Vettori imbibes the lessons learnt on the current tour of India, and puts them into practice rapidly in the harsh world of international cricket.

It has been the norm rather than the exception that most visiting spinners find baptism in India a tough, heart- breaking proposition. While on the face of it, the conditions might appear to strongly favour the practitioners of sleight of hand and deceit as opposed to the tearaway quick bowlers, most spinners discover that that is merely a mirage. For, having constantly been brought up on an elaborate diet of quality spin bowling, there is little in terms of mystery or mystique to trouble Indian batsmen, acknowledged as the best players of the turning ball.

True, there has been the odd Iqbal Qasim and John Bracewell who might have sent the Indians hurtling to their doom on designer wickets made to exploit home advantage to the hilt. But those occasions have been too few and far between, and unfortunately from Vettori`s point of view, India`s best have been in anything but obliging mood during this Test series.

That he has been taken to the cleaners will, however, not faze Vettori. Come to think of it, the 20-year-old has been the Kiwis` best bowler on tour to date, showing an amazing ability to soak up punishment and yet send down marathon spells, often accurately. He has had his odd moment in the sun, like the six for 127 in the first innings of the Kanpur Test when he momentarily tied the Indian batsmen up in knots and made them appear leaden-footed, but more than the wickets he has scalped so far, it is the education that is bound to stand the strapping youngster in good stead.

After all, didn`t Shane Warne suffer a worse fate in India last year? To Vettori`s credit, it has to be said that while he may not have been as incisive as he would have liked, he hasn`t been totally dominated by the batsmen. His propensity to stick to the basics -- line and length -- have allowed him to more than hold his own against nimble- footed batsmen, and that in itself is a victory of sorts for the spinner.

Vettori is just 20, and has a whole Test career ahead of him. On the evidence of his performances, both in England earlier this summer and here in India, there is no reason why the man with Italian roots should not go on to become one of the best spinners ever to come out of New Zealand.

The lack of a historical spinning lineage in his homeland has often been a stumbling block in Vettori`s educational endeavour. ''We haven`t had too many quality spinners in New Zealand, and it therefore becomes a little difficult to discuss the nuances of the game,`` Vettori admitted.

''I try and catch up with my peers as and when we travel or when they come to New Zealand. Like I had a chat with Anil (Kumble) when the Indians were there earlier this year. But it was nothing specific, just a general discussion. When (umpire) Venkataraghavan is officiating in a game involving us too, I make it a point to ask him a lot of questions, and he is technically very good.``

A little over two and a half years back, when he made his Test debut against England, Vettori became, at 18 years and 10 days, the youngest man to play Test cricket for New Zealand. It wasn`t exactly the most memorable of debuts, and the wisdom of thrusting such a raw young bowler -- a spinner at that, it might be added -- into the demanding world of international cricket was being openly questioned.

Gradually, Vettori showed that his learning curve was progressing along the right lines. It wasn`t, however, until their tour of Sri Lanka last year, when in three Tests he took 14 wickets in a 1-2 series defeat, that Vettori began to assert himself, though by then, he had almost become a permanent member in the playing eleven.

The tall left-arm spinner came to India prepared to send down long spells, and it is just as well. He has had to do the bulk of the bowling in the Test series, and has had to carry the onerous responsibility of not only holding one end up but also the tag of the number one strike bowler. It is a job he has carried out with some elan, even if figures would seem to suggest that he has come out second-best in his skirmishes with the Indian batsmen.

''Bowling on Indian wickets is a big challenge,`` Vettori had said prior to the start of the Test series. ''There will be assistance for spinners, but the Indian batsmen are extremely good players of spin bowling, so things won`t be easy for me at all.`` They haven`t been. But Vettori has striven manfully, and the returns have been forthcoming too. If his six for 127 at Kanpur was a reward for accuracy and intelligence, his four for 200 at Ahmedabad was a reward for perseverance and dogged determination. The spinning fingers, having sent down more than 1200 deliveries in this Test series alone, must surely be sore and weary, but Vettori will take it in his stride, looking at it as one more chapter in what is a long, arduous trek in his quest to establish himself as a quality spinner at the highest level.

In a young and committed New Zealand side, Vettori best typifies the grit and spirit that helped the Kiwis undermine England in the summer of the World Cup. His long stints at the bowling crease notwithstanding, Vettori is hardly chary of throwing himself around to effect saves, and boasts four Test half-centuries, always putting a price on his wicket.

His 83 wickets from 26 Tests and 27 scalps from 38 one-dayers might not reflect the quality of his bowling, but it is still early days for the man his mates call 'Kiddy.` Having established himself in the Kiwi ranks now, the demands on Vettori are bound to increase. Rest assured, it is a challenge the youngster will welcome with open arms.