Curtis off across the Ditch

BIG CHALLENGE: Sam Curtis is off to the Sunshine Coast eager to experience Australian passion for cricket.

Sam Curtis admits to some misgivings at having resigned after nine years as development officer for the Wairarapa Cricket Association to take up a position with Queensland Cricket on the Sunshine Coast.

The 34-year-old Curtis will start his new role of marketing development officer on July 28 and it means he is unlikely to fulfil an ambition of playing 100 matches for the Wairarapa senior men's side.

Right now he is just four short of the three figures after making his debut while a member of the Wairarapa College first XI in 1996. "It's gutting to get so close to 100 and probably not make it," Curtis said.

"I guess there's always the chance I could come back some day and pull it off but the odds are against it, aren't they?"

Many of Curtis' Wairarapa appearances came as captain (2006-2011) and he also had stints as selector and coach of the senior representative side.

At a higher level he has skippered the Central Districts A team and while he didn't make it on to the field for the Central Stags on the first-class scene he did get as close as 12th man. "I carried the drinks, it was a bit disappointing not to actually play but I got all the gear ... that was a bonus."

Curtis also has a tinge of sadness at leaving Wairarapa cricket at a time when the junior side of the sport is flourishing with 30 teams now involved in competition play, an increase of around 25 per cent from just three or four years back.

"The quality of the volunteers we have at junior level is amazing and a lot of the credit for the progress we have made in that area has to go to them," Curtis said.

"You can put all the strategies you like into place but they will only work if you have people prepared to do the hard yards in implementing them, and junior cricket in Wairarapa is very fortunate in that regard."

While loath to single out individuals for special mention, Curtis said the assistancegiven him at junior level by two "very special" volunteers, Frances Reisima andSimon Roseingrave, was "something else".

"Honestly, I'd hate to think of the hours they have put in, you can't put a price on that type of support."

His move to Queensland will not be the first time Curtis has experienced cricket overseas. As a player he spent three of our winters playing at minor league level in England and last year he was in Samoa helping them formulate plans and strategies to advance the game there.

Curtis sees his latest move as a "big challenge". It will involve working on ways and means to build the sport on the Sunshine Coast as well as implementing the national programmes already in place.

"Everybody knows how passionate Australians are about their cricket and it's a great opportunity to experience that at first hand," Curtis said.