Jamie Perkin is hoping to follow in Jack Brooks’s footsteps by going from Minor Counties to first class cricket.

The Oxford CC and Oxfordshire batsman won the Wilfred Rhodes Trophy for the highest batting average in his debut Minor Counties Championship season.

And having seen his friend Brooks progress from Oxon to Northants and now the England Lions squad, 22-year-old Perkin is determined to break into the professional game.

“I look at Jack and think if he can do it, with a bit of hard work, it is possible,” said Perkin. “He has taken his chance and you can only give him credit.”

Perkin won the Wilfred Rhodes Trophy after scoring 622 runs at an average of 77.75, hitting two centuries and two fifties. He is pictured here on the way to scoring 83 against Berk-shire at Banbury in August last year.

He said: “There have been quite a lot of people interested in me after the award.

“I have always dreamt of going to the next level and I think I am more than capable of doing it. I am confident in myself, but I’m not going to get too confident.

“I didn’t expect to do as well as I did in my first season, to be honest.

“In some ways, the only place I can go is down. It is my job to keep playing as well as I was.”

Perkin sees getting a contract with counties like Gloucestershire, Leicester-shire and Worcestershire as his best bet because he is more likely to get playing opportunities with them than at bigger sides.

He has been getting advice from Oxfordshire’s head of cricket, Rupert Evans.

Perkin said: “Rupert is so well connected, it is like having an agent.”

Although he has also been keeping wicket for Oxford, Perkin is prioritising his batting and says he has “a lot more work to do” on his fielding.

He added: “I can’t wait to get going again this year.”