Who would you have most liked to form an opening bowling pair with?
I just loved Chris Cairns, he was such a wicked guy to play with. He's a good mate of mine and, in the flesh, I don't think I've seen a cricketer quite as impressive as him. I've bowled with him once or twice, so he would be my dream opening partner.
Favourite thing to do in Whanganui?
I would say the best thing my family has done since being back in Whanganui was a Bridge to Nowhere tour then canoed back down. It was just unbelievable, we had such a brilliant day.
What advice would you give your 15-year-old self?
Don't take things too seriously, and just get out there and enjoy things as much as you can.
Which event from history would you most like to have been at?
I reckon it would be the signing of the Magna Carta, with King John in 1215. The cornerstone of all our democratic rights stem from it.
Do you think Whanganui has changed over the years?
I think we were all of the view, in our younger teenage years, that we couldn't wait to get out, and now, it's a hidden gem. It ticks so many boxes, with the river, ocean, and mountain. We're already seeing a real resurgence and we'll continue to, and I think a main difference is that people want to be here, and want to move here. Why wouldn't you? It's a beautiful place. I don't remember the climate being this great here either. It's a lot better place than I remember, but maybe that was just teenage angst.
What is your favourite sporting memory?
This will sound unusual, but I can't go past Brian Lara's 277 against Australia. I watched it with a couple of friends and we all thought 'wow, this guy is something special'. He just pumped the Aussies, it was one of the most beautiful innings you'll see.
I didn't have the greatest international career myself, but having the overseas tours were pretty special. You have so much anxiety playing at that level, but looking back, going to South Africa, India, Pakistan, places like that, those are also great memories.
What is the standard of cricket like now compared to 25 years ago?
It's definitely got better, and we've witnessed something special over the last five years or so. This is a fantastic New Zealand cricket team, and as good as we'll ever see. It's not often that the New Zealand cricket team is better on the world stage than the All Blacks, but I think we're at that point. We're getting things on the move here in Whanganui as well, there are a lot of good things happening. The new cricket centre will be up and running soon, and it's a pleasure to be involved.
Which other country would you most like to live in?
If I couldn't live here then it would be one of the Scandinavian countries. Norway, Denmark, that part of the world.
Who would you least like to face an over from?
I've faced some reasonably quick bowlers in my day. The quickest I faced was a guy called Brett Lee, and he bounced me first ball. I wasn't wearing an arm guard and after the second ball he got right up in my face and said 'I'm going to break your elbow next ball'. I wouldn't want to face him again, he was frighteningly quick.
