As a new sporting decade begins, life has gone full circle for former Australian Davis Cup tennis player turned Hong Kong cricketer Mark Kratzmann.
The opening batsman who represented his adopted home in three one-day internationals has moved back to the state of Queensland, where he has set up house with his young family less than 150 kilometres from where he grew up. Left behind in Asia is his former job as a regional manager of a currency trading firm - and his dream of representing Hong Kong at the ICC World Cup.
'There are enough good cricketers in Hong Kong to select from, without me,' Kratzmann said. 'Hong Kong was an exceptional, six-year stint but the whole family was ready for a healthy, sporty Aussie lifestyle so it was the best step we could have made.'
But the move home hasn't been all fresh air, beaches and sunsets. Kratzmann and his two-year-old son Quinn, were diagnosed with H1N1 in November and were under self-quarantine leading up to Christmas.
'I got the worst of it and was sick for nearly a month with really heavy flu-like symptoms,' he said. 'My father had it a while back and although we can't blame him directly, my guess is that was the source.'
Now fully recovered, Kratzmann will head to the Australian Open in Melbourne later this month to work as a radio commentator.