Englishman James Vandepeer is enjoying a summer abroad playing cricket in Port Fairy. He goes Under the Auld Pump with Tim Auld.
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Born: August 13, 1998.
Partner: Nicole.
Parents: Jane and John. Sibling: William.
Education: Soham Secondary School in England before going to Long Road Sixth Form College Cambridge.
Sporting highlight: would have to be when Ben Stokes made 155 runs for England against Australia a few months ago in the second Test.
James, Port Fairy Cricket Club recruited you a few months ago from England to play for them this summer. Are you enjoying playing cricket for Port Fairy in the Warrnambool and District Cricket Association?
Yes. I'm really enjoying the experience of playing cricket over here.
The people at the cricket club have been really supportive to my partner Nicole and to me and the people in Port Fairy have been sensational.
We arrived here at 6.30am on October 1. Alastair Templeton, who is the captain-coach of the club, was at Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport to greet us. He drove us down the highway and the first thing I noticed was it was a long trip.
Alastair drove us around Warrnambool before we arrived in Port Fairy.
We've been here for over two months and it's gone really quick. Nicole, who is a qualified nurse, started work at the Port Fairy hospital this week.
She has worked in various roles including the emergency department as a nurse back at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, England.
It's one of the biggest hospitals in England.
It took a while to get all of Nicole's paperwork in place for her to work here but now it's in place I'm sure she'll love the job.
James, before we talk about you playing for Port Fairy, how and why did you start playing cricket?
My dad John was a very handy soccer player in England - to be honest with you he played soccer at a pretty high level - but in the summer time he played cricket for a side called Chippenham.
It wasn't far from where we lived and I used to go and watch him play.
I ended up playing junior cricket for a club called Mildenhall Cricket Club before going to play for Chippenham.
I had a few years playing for them before joining Sawton and Babrahan Cricket Club in the seniors.
They used to play cricket on Saturdays and then on Sundays I would play for Cambridge Cricket Club in T20 games and one-dayers.
There's always a game of cricket being played in England. They just love their cricket in England.
What's you best performances with the bat and bowl back home?
I got eight wickets for 39 runs opening the bowling one day and managed to get 60 runs in another game.
James, had you been to Australia previously?
I came over here seven years ago and visited Sydney and went up the east coast.
I had never seen Melbourne but had heard a lot about it.
I had always wanted to get to the MCG and see a game of cricket there.
We're hoping to be at the MCG for a day of the upcoming Australia-Pakistan Test series after Christmas and we also want to go to the Australian Open tennis for a day.
The thought had gone through my mind on numerous occasions that I would love to play cricket in Australia or New Zealand and that's why when the opportunity came through the cricket exchange to play at Port Fairy I was really interested.
I take it you would have done a fair bit of research about Port Fairy before signing on the bottom line with the club?
Yes, I checked a few things out and I would think the club checked things out about me. I had Alastair (Templeton) on the phone asking me various questions before I signed up.
It's a long way to travel to Australia - two days - and I'm not the best on a plane.
What have you thought of the standard of cricket in the Warrnambool and District Cricket Association?
It's pretty good. I would say it's just a bit lower than the minor county cricket in England.
The wickets here are similar to what they are in England. They are slow and keep low.
The wickets normally do a bit early but then they flatten out.
We've only played one-day games to this stage of the season but each side we've played against has some very talented players.
Brierly-Christ Church beat us in one game and I think we should have won.
It's going to be interesting after Christmas as that's when we play the two-day games and that will sort out the premiership hopefuls.
Have you been happy with your form to this stage of the season?
I've gone fair. I made a few runs in a game and got starts in another couple and picked up a couple of wickets.
I'm hoping to have a better run after Christmas.
We're on top of the ladder at this stage of the season.
Alastair has done a brilliant job as captain-coach. He's blended the group of players into a good team.
Alastair studies a lot of videos of our players and offers great insights into how they can improve their games.
We've got some really good young players coming through the ranks and that all goes well for the future, plus we've got experienced players like Aaron Williams.
Aaron is a very good batsman. He's got a great eye and his experience is invaluable.
I've been impressed with numerous things since I joined the Port Fairy Cricket Club and one of those things is our facilities.
They are really quite outstanding for a country cricket club.
The indoor training centre is amazing. Players can train there at any time of the day and that is a huge advantage.
They are great and are a credit to stalwarts including Wally Sheehan, Damien Gleeson, Robert Dwyer and other hard-working volunteers at the club who have worked tirelessly over many years.
How many years did you sign on the bottom line for Port Fairy?
It's a one year contract.
Nicole and I have to be back in England early April and I'm hoping when we head back to England I might have a Port Fairy premiership medallion around my neck.
