After five seasons with the Auckland Aces, all-rounder Scott Stryis has returned to where his career started.
The 35 year old made the move back to the Northern Knights for the 2010/11 season and will take to the park for the side in the opening round of the Plunket Shield this week. The Knights are currently in Queenstown playing the Otago Volts.
Styris said it’s nice to be back where his cricket career began. “I played 11 seasons for Northern Districts before going to Auckland,” he said. “I played right from primary school all the way through the grades, so it’s nice coming towards the end of my career to come back to the Association where it all started.”
He’s hoping to be able to pass on his ample experience and cricket knowledge to some of the youngsters involved with the Knights. “If I can offer them some words of advice and make them better players then that’s good,” he said.
Styris usually doesn’t play the longer forms of the game; however he takes to the park today for a Plunket Shield game. He said he is using the games to help him get his fitness levels back on track after a recent back injury. “I’ll be playing four day games before hopefully heading over to India to play some ODIs for the BLACKACAPS,” he said. “Four day cricket is a different beast. You look to bat for a long time as opposed to playing big shots. I want to help ND win, and to get myself into good form.”
Even if Styris does go to India he’ll be back to play in some of the Knights games in the HRV Cup. He’s looking forward to the challenges domestic Twenty20 brings, including the bright uniforms worn by the Knights. “Pink is my colour!” he laughed. “They have been wearing it for a while now, but I haven’t had a chance to wear it. I can’t wait!”
