De Boorder's life after cricket
DEREK de Boorder may have hung up his gloves for good.
The veteran Otago wicketkeeperbatsman has made himself unavailable for the Volts next season.
The 32yearold avoided using the term retirement and still wants to keep his options open.
But he has accepted a temporary role with the ANZ Bank in Wellington through to ‘‘SeptemberOctober’’ and will move north later this month.
His partner, Natalie Duley, and sons Ethan (2) and Harry (10 months) will join him in the capital.
‘‘The exact finish date is up in the air,’’ de Boorder said.
‘‘But I just sort of owe it to Otago not to [enter] the contracting process so if a longterm opportunity presents itself post SeptemberOctober, I haven’t left
Otago in the lurch.
‘‘I think it is fair on both parties that way.’’
De Boorder has not completely closed the door on his cricket career but said with his international prospects having slipped away, he needed to think about life after cricket.
‘‘[International cricket] was out of the picture so I sort of had to make some choices. This is a pretty good for me postcricket, or gets me a foot in the door, anyway.’’
If de Boorder has played his last game for Otago, he will certainly have made an impression. He started out with Auckland but transferred south for the 200708 season.
A good team man, he was happy to be just ‘‘a drummer in the band’’ but quietly built a formidable domestic record behind the stumps.
He has made a record 344 dismissals for Otago — the most by any keeper for one province.
In 2010, he equalled the world record when he took eight catches in an innings.
He will also be stranded on 99 firstclass games for Otago and just 142 runs shy of 5000 career firstclass runs.
De Boorder, though, lists team achievements ahead of his personal highlights.
In his first season with Otago, the Volts broke a 20year drought to win the oneday competition.
He also played a key role with the bat during the domestic twenty20 final against Wellington at the University of Otago Oval in January 2013. He combined with Neil Broom to put on 71 runs for the third wicket which proved crucial in the fourwicket win.
‘‘That oneday trophy we won during my first season down here was pretty special to be part of and pretty special for the province, I guess.
‘‘I probably did not take stock at the time. And the memories and the friendships I’ve gained from cricket will be long lasting.’’
De Boorder was named in the Black Caps T20 team for two games against South Africa in December 2012 but never played.
He felt he was not consistent enough with the bat for international cricket but also had some very good players ahead of him, including Brendon McCullum and BJ Watling.
The righthander is leaving Otago cricket at a tumultuous time. The team has struggled during the past two seasons, finishing last in five out of the six tournaments. But de Boorder said his decision was unrelated.
‘‘Guys of my age face this choice at some point in time.
‘‘I don’t know what will come out of the review process they are undergoing at the moment. I’m sure there will be some changes made.
‘‘But if you dwell on negativity too much it can flow on into the next. I think it is about looking forward and what changes we can make to get better.’’
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