ENGLAND under 19s representative Ed Barnard is hoping to take his cricket career a further step and string 12 months of non-stop cricket together, after travelling to Australia for the first time to play with Queanbeyan this season.
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Barnard, 18, hails from the English west-midlands town of Shrewsbury, and dreams of playing for England at first-class level one day, but he knew that to achieve that dream, he had to find somewhere to play during the English winter, as well as at home during summer.
And his connection with Queanbeyan president Pete Solway granted his wish.
Solway played with Barnard's father Andy Barnard at the Shrewsbury club in 1999, and the two families have since remained in touch, with Solway offering to host Ed Barnard at his house until he flies back to England on February 20.
"Pete came over to Shrewsbury in '99 and played with my dad, so that's where we've got the connection," Ed Barnard said.
"We got back in touch, and they've been brilliant at hosting me at their house. They're like family."
It has not been the best start to the Cricket ACT grade season so far for the Englishman, with scores of 0 and 2 with the bat in the first two rounds of the John Gallop Cup one-day competition.
But he has taken three wickets at a good average of 20 and strike rate of 26 to announce his talent in his new competition.
He told The Queanbeyan Age he was excited to play cricket in Australia for the first time, and added gaining experience in different playing conditions was key to furthering his career in the future.
"I've been lucky to play in a few places around the world [with England under 19s squad] but I'd never played in Australia before," he said.
"To come and have the opportunity to play a season out here, I couldn't really miss it."
"Cricket is all I want to do. I'm with Worcestershire [English county] back at home, so hopefully I can take all my experiences and make a career."
As an all-rounder Barnard said he idolised former England star Andrew Flintoff, who also played domestic cricket in Australia, and said he hoped to play in Queanbeyan again in the future as he was better off playing cricket than "being stuck inside all the time during the English winter."