Beck Frostick could be a walking, talking advertisement for Wagga Cricket.

The boy from Barnsley, in the north of England, travelled halfway around the globe to play with St Michaels last year.

If he came for the cricket, Frostick returned for the camaraderie. The 22-year-old spent the last English summer in odd jobs (in between his cricket) whiling away the time until he could come back to Wagga.

"I didn't know where the place was but I always knew I wanted to come to Australia and play cricket," Frostick said at Robertson Oval.

"I wasn't bothered where I was going but luckily it turned out to be here.

"I loved it last year. They're a good set of lads, and I enjoyed my time. When I went home, I worked all summer, saving up, because I wanted to come back and travel and see more of Australia."

Last year's summer of heatwaves took some adjusting to, but there were no complaints given the alternative was a Yorkshire winter.

"It's a lot better than staying at home in the freezing cold so I'm not moanin' about it," Frostick laughed.

Of course, the differences go beyond the weather.

"Just the whole lifestyle, I think, is so different. It's so much more chilled out," he said. "I don't think I've drunk so much beer until I come over here. Every night, where I'm living, they've always got a beer in hand."

Cricket's been the ticket to the experience of a lifetime.

But the game is also its own reward, broadening Frostick's horizons.

The differences are both major and minor. At home, the toss is not the formal event it is here. But he's used to a more serious league, including sightscreens and detailed scoreboards.

"Every little thing is a bit different. The standard is still good, and it's professional in how you approach it. But the standard back home is probably a little bit better than here. But it's all about enjoyment for me," Frostick said.

"I thought it would help my cricket. Last year I had a really good season but when I went home I didn't have the greatest of seasons. I caught little habits here, playing on flatter tracks. Then you go home and you're playing on green seamers and the ball's nipping around, so it was difficult going back home compared to coming out here."

Frostick scored more than 600 runs at 40.47 last season, including seven 50s (but frustratingly, no centuries).

This season, he's had a 40 and a 76 in five innings, and wants to enjoy a few more runs. But he said a back complaint due to his action isn't helping his seam-up pace.

Taking on the captaincy has been something new to the right hander, and another feather in the cap of his cricket development.

He's been rapt in paceman Dave Garness' effort with the ball this year for Saints.

"I think he's the standout for us with the ball. He really adds some firepower to the bowling at the top of the order, that I don't think many other teams have apart from South Wagga maybe and the Cats, so we're thrilled to have him," Frostick said.

When it comes to rivals, he said Jono Nicoll's brilliance for Wagga RSL and South Wagga's depth stand out.

"When you play South Wagga, you could just name the whole squad. They bat from one to 11 and they've got seven or eight bowlers, so it's hard. If you want to beat them you've got to be switched on for the whole game," Frostick said.

"Then the Cats have got Jono Nicoll who, if he bats all day, they're going to put themselves in a really good position to win nine times out of 10."

Frostick said he's used to plenty of serious sledging at home.

"It's more aggressive back home. It's very, very competitive and you'll have people running past you saying things in your ear that you don't want to hear," he said.

"Over here it's a bit more friendly. There's only six clubs and everyone knows each other around the clubs, you're quite good friends. So it's limited here but back home, at your own little home grounds and rivalries, it can be very hostile at times."

Still, he likes to dish out a little friendly banter.

It's just that most of it goes unnoticed in that Yorkshire accent.

"I like giving it but not many people can understand me. So when I try to give it they just look at me as if I'm speaking French or something. Hahaha."

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