Nathan has not needed to know where the bleach is for the last two years but will pull on the whites for Otago in its Plunket Shield game against Northern Districts beginning at the University Oval today.
He has replaced Black Caps off-spinner Mark Craig in the line-up, while Namibian international Christi Viljoen joins the squad as a replacement for Neil Wagner, who has not been released by the Black Caps despite missing out on the starting XI for the test against Australia.
Viljoen shapes as the likely 12th man with Jack Hunter perhaps the logical choice to join Jacob Duffy, Craig Smith, and Sam Wells in the seam attack.
McCullum has not played any first-class cricket since February 2014. That is mostly down to the fact he has been unavailable due to national commitments but age had been a factor as well.
The off-spinner made his first-class debut 16 years ago and the 35-year-old is in the twilight of his career. He will retire from international cricket at the conclusion of the World Twenty20 which gets under way in India next month.
He has indicated he would like to continue playing twenty20 cricket for Otago next season but will not be making a habit of surprise first-class appearances.
For McCullum, who has played 61 first-class games for Volts, the game also represents an opportunity to sharpen up before the World Twenty20.
``Getting cricket under his belt before that tournament is the benefit for him to play this game,'' Otago coach Nathan King said.
King is confident McCullum will be up to the demands of four-day cricket despite being restricted to a diet of limited-overs cricket for the past 24 months.
``He had a niggle at the end of the twenty20 campaign and then came back and played those last two one-dayers for us. And has been doing a lot of work with the Black Caps, so I'm confident he has done enough bowling to come in for us for this four-dayer.''
The selectors contemplated other options, including throwing left arm spinner Nick Beard back into the fray or giving Carisbrook-Dunedin legspinner Rhys Phillips another opportunity.
``While we considered those other guys ... we are still about picking the best possible team we can to try to win the game.
``We felt Nathan was the best spin option for this game.''
Otago is coming off a disappointing 102-run loss to Wellington in Queenstown in round four and is stuck at the bottom of the competition standings with three losses and a draw from four games.
Northern Districts is in fourth place but recorded a comprehensive 284-run win against Central Districts in the last round. The visitors have some key players in form as well.
Scott Kuggeleijn is the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 24 scalps, while James Baker is in second spot with 18. Batsman Bharat Popli is the leading scorer with 519 runs.
Neil Broom has been Otago's most productive batsman with 341 runs at an average of 48.71 this season. But it is with the ball where the team may struggle.
The Volts do not have anyone in the top 10 wicket-takers with Duffy, Wells and Smith all averaging more than 50 with the ball.
The teams
Otago: Brad Wilson, Hamish Rutherford (captain), Michael Bracewell, Neil Broom, Jimmy Neesham, Derek de Boorder, Nathan McCullum, Sam Wells, Craig Smith, Jacob Duffy, Jack Hunter, Christi Viljoen.
Northern Districts: Daniel Flynn, James Baker, Dean Brownlie, Joe Carter, Anton Devcich, Tony Goodin, Brett Hampton, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Bharat Popli, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi.
