Ex-Wellington bowler to help coach Kaipara

First-class fast bowler Kevin Forde has joined forces with Pakistani Tauseef "Tazz" Satti to coach Kaipara Flats premier grade cricket side for the 2009/2010 season.
Forde arrived from Wellington earlier this week in time for the club  season start  tomorrow  with the Premier Grade Twenty20 competition.
"For the last two years I was contracted to Wellington but I missed out on a contract this year," he said.
When he was not representing the capital, the 23-year-old played for the Onslow club.
While reviewing his options, Forde chatted with Northland Cricket chairman Gary Bell, whose son Matthew plays for Wellington, and the suggestion was made that the bowler should come north.
 Forde ended up at Kaipara Flats and, while he only met his new team at last night's training , he already has high ambitions for the season.
"I'm really looking forward to the weekend. In the twenty20 competition, we are hoping for a repeat of last year - a win would only be a good result for us," he said, referring to Kaipara's victory in the 2008/2009  20-over final.
Co-coach Satti, Kaipara's professional cricketer who has spent the past few seasons with the club, arrived yesterday  after a season in Denmark.
Satti joins a strong bowling line-up at Kaipara this season, president John Stephen says. 
"We're a bit light in the batting, but we have plenty bowling for us," he said.
Kaipara's main batsman, Ben Thompson, would be out for a few weeks with an injured knee, while first-class cricketers James Marshall and Brad Wilson, who helped the premiers to last year's twenty20 victory, are still  in Australia. 
"They will be back before Labour weekend and will play a few club games until their Northern Districts commitments kick in," Stephen says.
Also making a late return to the team are  Gordon Penney and Michael O'Flaherty, who have been in Canada, and  allrounder Kyron Dill, who is still away on a scholarship at Lincoln University in Christchurch.
Players would filter into the team over the next month in time for the one-day competition but, until then, Stephen said numbers had been bolstered  from senior grade sides contesting the Rodney competition. 
The side was  young but had high hopes  and were out to better last year's achievements.
Along with the twenty20 title, Kaipara were runner-up to Maungakaramea in the one-day competition.
No team dominated the four competitions - the twenty-20, one-day, 55-over and the two-day competitions were each won by a different team last season, Stephen said.
Kaipara will use that as motivation to chase a clean sweep this season, starting tomorrow, followed by round two and the Twenty20 final at Kaipara Flats next weekend.
The 2009/2010 Northland Premier Grade club cricket season gets under way tomorrow  with round one of the twenty20 competition at Kensington Park. There will be big hitting  when Onerahi play City, Whangarei Boys' High School face Kamo and last year's twenty20 champions Kaipara Flats play Maungakaramea at 10.30am.
At 2pm, the schoolboys take on Onerahi, City go up against Maungakaramea, while Kamo play Kaipara Flats.