I was born in Auckland but brought up in Hamilton. My father was Italian and my mother, a New Zealander. Ours was a close-knit family, the way all Italian families are. We would be surrounded by our grandparents, siblings and cousins during festivals and get-togethers.

I have two siblings. The three of us — Nicholas, Kimberley and I — had a great time together. Where I come from, Boxing Day — the day after Christmas — is a huge event and we used to celebrate it as grandly as we could.

I’ve been playing cricket since childhood. At that time, having fun was the sole objective. My earliest memory of cricket is bowling to Nicholas in the backyard. I also liked playing soccer. Some of the other sports I enjoy are golf, league and rugby.

My first cricket equipment was a bat that was gifted to me on Christmas when I was seven or eight years old. At that point, I didn’t know that cricket would play such a pivotal role in my life. I had even won a scholarship to study health sciences but I let go of it to pursue cricket. In fact, I found out that I was playing in the Test series just an hour before the team was announced. But I was willing to take that risk.

When I was in school, I used to be a fast bowler. It required quite a bit of effort as well as time to slow down my pace and turn into the slow left-arm orthodox spinner that I am today.

I’m perhaps one of the few players who wear glasses while playing cricket. The reason is, I can’t wear contact lenses because I had met with an accident in which I was knocked off a bike and thereafter I developed some complications.

The one dream that I nurture is to play a hundred Tests. All I’d like to say to children who would like to take up this game seriously is, enjoy yourself while you play the game. In short, have fun — that is important.