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. That's where he won the first of three junior grand slam singles titles in 1984, on the way to becoming the world's number-one under-18 player, ahead of future greats that included Germany's Boris Becker. He was hailed as the likely successor to another fair-headed, diminutive left-hander from Queensland called Rod Laver who had dominated tennis two decades earlier. But what followed was a solid yet moderate career that saw Kratzmann reach number 50 in the ATP singles rankings and win 18 doubles titles before retiring at the age of 28 because of a back injury. His physical condition ruled out golf, so, just for fun, Kratzmann returned to his first sporting love of cricket (he had represented Queensland at primary school level) after hanging out with Australian internationals like Allan Border and Matthew Hayden. And by the time he moved to Asia in 2003 to take up a job as a tennis coach at the Hong Kong Cricket Club, the hobby had become a rather serious pursuit. He amassed 1,506 runs with seven hundreds in the 2005-06 season, including a staggering 706 at 117.67 in the Saturday League as he scooped the 2006 Player-of-the-year Award, relying heavily on a sweep shot that looked suspiciously like a cross-court forehand from tennis. He was also a handy swing bowler and specialist slip fielder. In 2007, Kratzmann defied father time to force his way into the Hong Kong side at the age of 41, alongside some teammates who were half his age. And, ironically, it was the Australian city of Darwin that saw the watchful opener represent Hong Kong three times in the ICC World Cricket League, Division 3, scoring 49 runs at 16.33. 'Playing in Darwin was the highlight as it was tough cricket, on good tough Aussie wickets and a great challenge to try to score,' he said. 'We found out that 200 was virtually a winning, defendable total whereas in Hong Kong that would be easy due to the size of the grounds. 'On a club level, winning the 2005 league and cup double with the Scorpions and playing with Australian legends of the sport like Darren Tucker, Kevin Roberts, Neil Jones stands out the most.' He remained on the fringes of the national team as he was selected in the initial 20-man squad for the 2008 Asia Cup in Pakistan before being omitted from the final 14. Then burgeoning work commitments limited his availability, although he toyed with the idea of fulfilling the seven-year residency period to be classified as a local player. After taking a six-month break from cricket as he moved his family back to Australia, Kratzmann is now playing again on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, for Noosa in the A-Grade competition. His connection to Asia remains with a sports promotion business that saw him organise lucrative corporate appearances by his former Davis Cup teammates, Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde, in Hong Kong and Singapore - and through his wife's shoe business. Zoe Kratzmann is a designer of luxury footwear, exporting from Guangzhou. Kratzmann says he won't die wondering what might have been cricket-wise if his family had decided to stay in Hong Kong. Just like the pro tennis player who walked away from the ATP circuit in 1995, there'll be no looking back. 'Going to grand slam tennis events brings it all back, however it seems like another person did all that now,' he said. 'I've learned to move on. There's nothing more boring than a former sportsperson living in the past. 'Hong Kong was about an Asian cultural experience and setting up businesses that could be run from Australia, while allowing us to return to Asia regularly. We are both lucky to have achieved that.'
