Thanks to his New Zealand state team, Central Districts we were able to get in contact with Peter and pose him a few questions in order for us to find out a little bit about him and his background. Peter grew up in the Taranaki township of Manaia on the Western side of the North Island of New Zealand.

Peter had a solid start to his first class career, scoring a century in only his second State Shield game, against Otago in January 2002. A few lean years followed, but in 2006/7, Peter was an outstanding performer, bagging four centuries in only six matches during the year including his first class best, and two centuries in a match against Canterbury. With such impeccable credentials achieved over the course of the year, the World-A-Team selectors were very pleased to select Peter as opener for their New Zealand A Team.

During the off-season, Peter teaches back in Taranaki, in the City of New Plymouth.

Q1. How were you first introduced to cricket, and what about the game got you hooked?

Peter Ingram: I was raised in South Taranaki region in the North Island of New Zealand.  I was spotted by Central Districts whilst playing with the New Zealand development squad. Mike Shrimpton saw me playing, and it was him who convinced me to move to Napier Boys School where I could be coached by Mike and other experienced, established coaches. After leaving Napier Boys School I went to teaching college in Palmerston North and kept training hard and that eventually paid off and I got my chance as part of the Central Districts squad.

Q2. What hobbies/sports do you get up to when not playing or training for cricket?

Peter: I'm pretty busy during the off-season. My main job outside of the cricket season is as an RE teacher at Francis Douglas Memorial College in New Plymouth, Taranaki. On top of this, I'm spending a lot of time building a house for my fiancée and I and I own a classic 1964 Ford Falcon and I'm also putting together a 'Chopper' bike.

Q3. Who are your favourite cricketers of all time, and which cricketer do you think influenced your own style the most?

Peter: My favourite cricketer has to be Ricky Ponting. He's got a great attitude where he looks to dominate the bowling and won't let the bowlers dominate him.

As to which cricketer has influenced me the most, I can't think of any individual in particular. After my first year playing for Central Districts, I spent a lot of time in the nets trying to perfect my batting technique and struggled in the next couple of seasons. More recently, I went back to basics and going back to concentrating on "hitting the ball" rather than spending time on my batting technique.  As a result, I've had a much more successful season, but no individuals particularly influenced me to make that change, I just went back to remembering what I enjoyed in the first place and that was hitting the ball.

Q4. What advice would you give to youngsters to encourage them to take up cricket?

Peter: If you are looking to be a batsman, you've got to just go out there and hit the ball. Enjoyment is the key to playing sport, and by going out there and just hitting the ball you'll enjoy the game.

Q5. What has been your own personal highlight from your career so far?

Peter: The two hundreds I scored against Canterbury this year [Peter became only the fourth Central Districts player to score a century in each innings of a match, scoring 119 and 166 not out at the QEII Park, Christchurch] or the hundred I scored against Auckland at McLean Park, Napier against their strong bowling line up including Chris Martin and Andre Adams [Peter scored 105 runs, over half of the runs scored by the whole Central Districts team. Only two other members of the Central Districts team reached double figures]

Q6. Who are the best players you have played with and against?

Peter: The best players that I have had the opportunity to play with have to be Mathew Sinclair and Jamie How. It's brilliant to watch them bat and how they dominate bowling attacks. As for those I've played against, Chris Cairns was a great competitor - really in your face and often provided a few words to me whilst I was batting! Shane Bond is another great player, much more quiet but aggressive in a silent assassin kind of way!

Q7. What experience have you had in playing cricket overseas and how did you benefit from the experience?

Peter: I went overseas to play cricket a couple of times when I was younger. Firstly,  I went on a school tour with Napier Boys High to England and Holland and then toured with the New Zealand Under-19s team to Australia and South Africa back in 1998/99. The tour showed me just how passionate some fans can be overseas, and I obviously enjoyed the experience. I don't feel my game really benefitted too much though as I was probably a little bit too young for my game to really reap the benefits.

Q8. What are your views on 20:20 cricket, and do you think there is sufficient cricket played at the state level in New Zealand?

Peter: 20:20 is great for players and cricket as a whole! Anything that increases enjoyment and can get the crowds in and enjoying the game must be good for cricket.

I'd quite like to see more cricket played if it continues to provide such entertainment and crowds. I hope that 20:20 continues as there's a place for players like me in the game.

Q9. Are there any young players around that you are aware of that could be knocking on the door for Test selection in the future?

Peter: Tim Weston and Robbie Schaw. Schaw bowled 75-80 overs in a four day game in Auckland this year at only 2 runs per over. A good leg spinner is always hard to come across, and with more game time, Robbie could be a success. Look at Shane Warne, he wasn't an overnight sensation, yet he went on to be the world's best as he kept at his game and kept improving. Hopefully Robbie can emulate some of that.

Q10. What is your nickname, and how did you get it?

Peter: 'Pa'. I'd been teaching for a few years and was playing for Central Districts. I was living in a house with Bevan Griggs and Jake Oram whilst coaching the Under-15 rugby team at school. There was a boy around at that time who had suffered from cancer at a young age and he'd had to have his leg amputated. He'd sometimes come knocking at my house door, and when he asked Bevan or Jake if he could speak to me he'd ask for 'Pa'. Pa is the Maori word for 'Sir' or 'Elder' and it stuck with me.

Q11. What do you think you need to do to get noticed by the national team selectors?

Peter: I think that I have to have another season like the one just gone. I have to keep scoring runs and looking to keep dominating bowling attacks rather than allow myself to be dominated by them. I have to make sure that the runs I score are made a decent clip to really be noticed and I have to make sure that when I do have a failure that I don't let it get me down so that I can go out there in the next game with a good chance of making a good score.

Q12. What aspirations do you have outside of cricket?

Peter: That's a tough one. I suppose in the next few years I'd like to be mortgage free and eventually have a few kids. I'd like to make sure that I keep in touch with all my family and friends and that I'm a good person. Also, I'd like to be able to look back and say that I did well at whatever I have done.

Q13. How much would playing for a New Zealand 'A' Team mean to you? Do you see the 'A' team as a stepping stone to full honours, or as a side-show detracting from State and full international cricket?

Peter: Playing for a New Zealand A team would be a fantastic opportunity and a good stepping stone for me or any aspiring cricketer. I think that it would be great to see much more A team level cricket. It gives successful players outside of the main international squad more opportunities for exposure and playing at a tougher level, though I can appreciate that any additional games would have fit into the financial constraints of New Zealand Cricket.

Q14. The 2006/7 season was a massive success for you. What do you think allowed you to step up to the level of achievement that you obtained this year?

Peter: I guess it came down to being able to do my own thing all Winter in 2006. I hadn't had a successful season in 2005/06 and that meant that I wasn't offered a contract by Central Districts for the 2006/07 season. I went away and thought to myself that I wasn't going to put myself through that stress any more and I'd stick to playing for my school and for Taranaki and get back to enjoying my cricket. I spent a lot of time in the nets with Tim Weston, getting right back to basics. This meant being able to put trust in my own game again. I spent hours in the nets practising the same shots and actions thousands of times over and over. The extra confidence that this gave me meant that when I got the opportunity to play for Central Districts again due to international call-ups and injuries I felt a lot more confident than I had in the previous season and I started hitting the ball well and scoring runs.

Q15. With the perceived difficulties finding successful openers for the New Zealand test team, do you feel that your success as an opener this year makes you closer to the test team than ever?

Peter: No. Not really. Jamie How and Michael Papps in particular are great players who have shown that they have the goods to succeed at the top level. I've got to expect that players like that are ahead of me at the moment. Its very hard to compete with the best players in the country when you aren't guaranteed a spot in your State side - when you're in and out of the team, its hard to feel that you are fighting for an international spot!

Q16. Given how successful your season was, did you feel disappointed not to be selected for the NZ A team?

Peter: Well, I didn't expect to be picked. I think you need to have had more than one successful season to deserve to be picked for the A Team. The guys who were selected are those who've performed in the State Championship year in and year out and deserve their shot in the A team. Saying that, having played well this season I did hope that I might have just worked my way into contention and so I did feel a little bit of disappointment when I heard the announcement and my name wasn't in there.

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Once again, many thanks to Peter for spending his time answering our questions. Thanks also go to his state, Central Districts and his coach, Graham Barlow for putting us in contact with him. We wish Peter all the best with his pursuits in the off-season and hope to see him building on the successes of 2006/07 with the bat in the next season.