After a hectic but positive season of cricket in the Northern Hemisphere, Kaipara Flats captain Tauseef Satti, is confident his luck is back on track in New Zealand.
The genial Pakistani all rounder, known to his teammates as Taz, is back for his third season as the professional at the club.
Having
arrived back a few days ago, he was still acclimatising on Saturday at Kensington Park, determined to get back into the same form as last season before a broken wrist ended his season prematurely.
"I was playing for Northland A senior side against Waikato Valley and I went for a caught and bowled, but the ball was hit pretty hard," he said.
"I was out for a month here and then I had six weeks off after that, so in the end it took more like three months to heal in total."
Satti made the most of his time away from cricket to marry his Kiwi bride Ayesha in his home town of Islamabad, before taking up his position as the Ashmanhaugh Cricket Club professional.
The break proved to be just the right tonic for Satti and, despite missing the first four matches of the season recovering from the wrist injury, he went on to become the top wicket taker in the Norfolk Alliance League.
Ayesha will join him here next week. The pair met in Christchurch when he was playing as a professional for Sydenham - a role he filled for three years before spending a season in Tauranga at the John Howell Academy and then signing with Kaipara.
The 28-year-old has no plans on moving on just yet.
"So far I've enjoyed myself at Kaipara Flats very much. The people at the club have been great and were understanding in my first season when I had to take time to get over some surgery. I feel like I've been looked after very well," he said.
"And since Northland cricket have taken over [my contract] it's been brilliant. It is very professional, with the paperwork always in order and that makes us want to work harder," he said.
There have been a few changes since he left, with extensive renovations on the Kaipara Flats Cricket Club's pavilion.
"I was surprised to see how nice the ground was looking. It was just like a first-class ground when you go into the pavilion, it looks great. It's a huge improvement."
