Josh Finnie will get to take a few more photographs next summer.
He will also spend the winter in Europe and will not have to pack a bat.
The Otago mid-order player retired from domestic cricket earlier this week, bringing an end to a career which spanned nine seasons.
The 27-year-old was a schoolboy star and played for New Zealand at the under-19 World Cup in 2014 and again in 2016.
He made his debut for Otago as a 17-year-old in a T20 match against Central Districts in late November in 2014.
The right-hander scored 12 runs from 13 balls and claimed two for nine with the ball. Finnie was a pretty useful off spinner when he got the opportunity.
But while Finnie showed glimpses of his potential at domestic level with the bat, and played some important innings, he never quite took his game to the next level.
He has no regrets, though. He got to play 132 games for Otago across the three formats, he put a lot into the game and had a great time doing it.
Making the decision to move on was "extremely difficult".
"It is all I’ve known for a long time now in a way," he said.
"There has been some bloody cool things to come out of the game which I will always be grateful for.
"But there comes a time in everyone’s life when they kind of have to look at what comes next.
"There are still a few things I want to go off and do while I’m still young."
First on the agenda is an overseas trip.
His partner, Hannah van Plateringen, has secured some leave from her teaching job and the pair will leave for Europe later this month.
Finnie has not ruled out playing club cricket again in the future. But for now he is keen to do something different with his summer.
He is a very talented photographer and he wants to finish his building apprenticeship once he returns to New Zealand.
"I love taking my camera out and about, but while I’ve been playing cricket and building there has not been too much free time for other stuff.
"Now that I won’t be so tied up over summer, I’m sure there will be more chances to go out and get more content."
One of Finnie’s playing highlights came early on in his career when he nabbed four for 11 in a T20 against Northern Districts at the University Oval.
He was out in the middle when Otago chased down 179 to beat Northern Districts at Molyneux Park in 2019.
Finnie clubbed three fours in critical cameo to help secure the win for the Volts, and has fond memories of that game.
"It came down to the last couple of balls and [Kitchen] hit it for six and that was pretty special.
"I’ll never forget that."
The next day he smashed 71 not out from 36 balls against Canterbury to set up a 51-run win.
He did not mention that innings, but for those who saw it live it was rather memorable.
"I’ll miss being part of the team environment, it is pretty special. We’ve got a good group of guys down here. It is something which is definitely not replicated around the country ... and that is going to be tough to leave behind."
