Bigstarcricket will be publishing a series of interviews with players to keep an eye on in 2008 - starlets who could be the Test and ODI stars of tomorrow. Our latest interview is with Craig Kieswetter.

After relocating from South Africa, Kieswetter was surprised to become Somerset's No.1 wicketkeeper aged 19 in the 2007 county season. He is learning from experienced pro's such as Justin Langer, Marcus Trescothick, Andy Caddick and Ian Blackwell, while working towards his long-term goal of playing for England.

What is your background Craig, for those of us who don;t know?         My mother is Scottish and my father is South African and I have duel nationality which is how I was able to come over here. It was a bit weird at first coming from a different country because I spent 18 years in South Africa, but I had the choice of going to college in Cape Town or Millfield in Somerset. With the situation in South Africa I thought I would chance my arm in England and try to get a county contract. It all shocked me at how quickly everything happened.

What were your reasons for leaving SA cricket?
It is a very frustrating situation whether you are white or a player of colour, very political. I’m not just saying this because I feel prejudiced against being white as I think it is the same for people of colour as well, who may be picked because of their colour rather than on ability. I’m not angry about the system, just disappointed. I’m not going to shout my mouth off at it as I want to move on. It was a big move to leave home at 18 but with my Mum being Scottish – she is from Edinburgh - I used to come across to the UK every year so it is like a second home here anyway.

Did you play SA U-19s with any SA players we might know?
The top players I played with were guys like the Eagles' Dean Elgar and Wayne Parnell and Richard Levy.

What was their reaction at you coming over?
It was pretty mixed. Some backed me and said I was in a fortunate position with a duel passport, but the coach Ray Jennings didn’t understand why I did what I did. We didn’t see eye to eye anyway. He slated me a lot in the media and said I was taking the easy option. I was a bit shocked to hear that from him.

KP had a tattoo scribed on his arm to prove his nationality, will you be doing anything like that? Do you feel English or British or South African?
It’s one of the hardest questions because I was born to both nationalities and just happened to grow up in South Africa. Matt Prior was born in Johannesburg but was brought up in England. The day I moved here I said to myself I was English and now if England and South Africa play at rugby or a Test match I am 100 percent behind England.

Somerset seems like a good club to learn your trade at the moment with the likes of Justin Langer, Marcus Trecothick, Ian Blackwell and Andy Caddick around? Good early opportunities there?
They have a really good relationship with Millfield School and I couldn’t believe how fast things happened – I really didn’t expect to play the whole season in the first team last year. The coach Andy Hurry has been the biggest influence on my career. I had lots of coaches in South Africa but he has been the best by a long way in terms of technical and mental sides of my game. But there are so many great names in the team like JL, Tres, Blacky, Caddy – I was trying to get their autographs at first and before long I was sharing a dressing room with them!

What’s been the greatest lesson you’ve learnt from your first full season?
In school cricket it’s quite easy to dominate but you can’t play like that straight away in first-class cricket. Last season I was quite gung-ho and went out there all guns blazing but I have realised that I need to be more patient to succeed at this level consistently.

How has your relationship with Justin Langer been?
I have an excellent relationship with him. He’s a very intense guy and takes his cricket very seriously and I’m exactly the same though I like to relax when we’re away from games. He pushes everyone really hard because he feels that everybody has something extra to give and he wants you to be the best in the county if not the country. He’s also easy to have a beer with off the field and talk about cricket, family or Australia, anything.

I hear you have spoken to Adam Gilchrist about cricket. Was that brokered by Langer and what did he say?
We were on the team bus going from one game to another and I was talking to JL when he went to the back of the bus and made a phone call. He came back to me and shoved his phone in my face and I didn’t know who was on the other end – it was Adam Gilchrist. I thought he would be pissed off that I wanted to talk with him but he was not like that at all. We chatted for about 15 or 20 minutes about cricket. He was very generous and said if I ever wanted to talk to him I should get his number off JL and he even said if I should visit Perth I should call him to go for a beer or to talk about cricket or to practice my keeping. It was quite a humbling experience.  

Are you patient in terms of playing for England? Are you aware of how long the queue is with Ambrose in now and with the likes of Foster, Davies and Mustard all involved and with Read, Prior and Jones still keen for a recall. It's not going to be an easy route to England side is it?
I’m very patient but I’m also very ambitious and I do want to play for England. That is definitely a goal. I know there are good keepers in the country at the moment but I have another two years to qualify yet so I just need to put plenty of runs on the board and hope the selectors notice me. People can talk about you being a prospect and all that but it’s down to me to put up the performances. These next two years are massive.

I mentioned KP before, have you had much contact with him about what he went through when he qualified? Is he a role model for you?
I haven’t actually spoken to him at all. I have had a lot of chats about him with Marcus Trescothick and it sounds pretty similar to what he went through as I’m going through. He’s definitely an inspiration because what he has done is a big step and one that I also want to take.

What do you do away from cricket? What might we not know about you?
I love my golf and I try to watch a bit of football, being an Aston Villa fan. I didn’t support any team until I went to Millfield but when someone asked me who I supported and I didn’t have a team I drew a name out of the hat and Villa was my club from then on.

Who were your childhood heroes?
Damien Martyn and although I never saw him play, Barry Richards. I met him once as a kid and he is a big name in South Africa so he was one guy I always idolised.

Craig Kieswetter was speaking with Richard Sydenham

Send in your comments on this interview or on any related topics to fans@bigstarcricket.com and see them published