Liam Norwell will be flying to Barbados – one of the hotbeds of world cricket – for seven days of top class cricket later this month.

Three one-day games will precede the annual four-day Champion County Match between an MCC XI and the county champions – Essex – and Norwell’s call-up is a sure sign that the seam bowler’s exploits over the past two or three years are starting to be recognised further afield than just within Gloucestershire’s borders.

Norwell is a late replacement for injured Sussex left-armer George Garton, but one thing you can be certain of is that the 26-year-old will be doing everything he can to make the most of his opportunity in the Caribbean.

After all, as anyone who has seen him bowl will know, it’s the only way he knows how to play.

“It’s really exciting,” he told The Local Answer. “It’s a great opportunity and nice to get some recognition. I’ve never played in Barbados before. I’ve played in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa so this will be a new experience.”

And it’s an experience that Norwell has certainly earned. While last year was a real standout year – he took 59 wickets at 17.39 in the County Championship – he has been pretty consistent for several seasons now.

“I’ve had a good two or three years,” he said. “When I get out to Barbados I can hopefully show what I can do. I just need to play as I did last season and for the couple of years before that.”

Former England batsman Paul Collingwood is in the MCC side so there are some heavyweight names playing at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, and anyone putting in consistent performances will certainly not do their long-term ambitions of playing representative cricket any harm.

Not that Norwell is getting too carried away.

“I know that England is a long way away,” he said, “but a place on a Lions tour is definitely something I can strive for at this stage of my career.”

And it’s been a pretty impressive career so far with close on 250 wickets in 67 first class matches at a shade under 27.

Norwell burst onto the scene with Gloucestershire in 2011 as a strapping 19-year-old.

Born in Bournemouth, his family moved to Cornwall when he was seven or eight and it wasn’t long before he was showing great potential as a bowler with Redruth.

So how did he end up at Gloucestershire?

“I was playing for Cornwall Under-17s, took a few wickets and got invited up,” he said.

“I was in the academy for a year and then signed pro in 2010. It all happened pretty quickly.”

Although injuries slowed his progress over a period of three years after his breakthrough season, he has certainly been one of Gloucestershire’s go-to bowlers since 2015 – a season which saw him take 61 championship wickets.

He moved up another level last year, producing career-best figures of 8 for 43 against Leicestershire in September and it is that kind of form that the powers-that-be at Gloucestershire hope can propel them towards a promotion charge in the four-day game in 2018.

“That’s the aim,” said Norwell. “We all want to be playing in Division One of the County Championship.

“If we can win three or four of our first six games that will put us in a good position.”

And Gloucestershire’s hopes of playing at the higher level for the first time since 2005 have been improved by the recent capture of Australian one-day international pace bowler Dan Worrall, a signing welcomed by Norwell even though it will step up the pressure for places in the pace bowling department.

“It’s a great move,” Norwell said. “It will mean more competition but that will keep us all on our toes and push us on to perform even better because we’re all fighting for positions.

“He’s played a handful of one-day internationals so we can learn from him and he’ll also be able to learn from us because we’ve all played in different conditions.”

The 26-year-old Worrall is with the county only until early July, which is before the money-spinning T20 tournament kicks in, but he will be around for the Royal London One-Day Cup, the final of which takes place on 30th June.

They are two huge competitions, of course, and while Norwell is clearly one of the first names on the Gloucestershire teamsheet in the four-day game, he is desperate to prove that he can be equally effective in the shorter formats of the game.

He’ll get an early chance to show what he can do in the one-day game in Barbados where as well as playing for the MCC XI, he will be playing in the North-South Series.

Norwell is in the South squad – made up of players who play for counties in the southern half of England and Wales – for a three-match 50-over series against a squad of players from the northern counties.

Norwell didn’t play in Gloucestershire’s 50-over cup final win at Lord’s in 2015, nor did he feature in the county’s T20 campaign last season and that’s something he is looking to rectify.

“Yeah, I definitely want to play in all formats of the game,” he said. “I’ve been in and out of the 50-over side and also the T20.

“Hopefully the North v South Series will give me a chance to showcase my talents.”

But while Norwell wants more game-time in white ball cricket, he is also a traditionalist and the four-day game is still number one for him.

“Definitely,” he said. “That’s where you get tested day in, day out. I love one-day cricket but four-day cricket is the best form of the game.

“Put it this way, I’d rather win one Test cap than play 20 one-day internationals.”

MCC XI: Daniel Bell-Drummond (Kent, England Lions, captain), Brett D'Oliveira (Worcestershire, England Lions), Paul Collingwood (Durham, England), Sam Northeast (Hampshire, England Lions), Sam Hain (Warwickshire), Delray Rawlins (Sussex, Bermuda), John Simpson (Middlesex, wicketkeeper), Dom Bess (Somerset, England Lions), Matthew Fisher (Yorkshire), Liam Norwell (Gloucestershire), Fidel Edwards (Hampshire, West Indies). Match starts on Tuesday 27th March.

North-South Series – North: S Mullaney (Notts, captain), S Hain (Warwickshire), A Hose (Warwickshire), J Clarke (Worcestershire), K Jennings (Lancashire), B D’Oliveira (Worcestershire), A Davies (Lancashire), P Coughlin (Notts), M Fisher (Yorkshire), S Mahmood (Lancashire), R Gleeson (Northamptonshire), Z Chappell (Leicestershire), M Parkinson (Lancashire).

South: S Northeast (Kent, captain), D Bell-Drummond (Kent), N Gubbins (Middlesex), D Lawrence (Essex), D Rawlins (Sussex), O Pope (Surrey), J Simpson (Middlesex), S Curran (Surrey), P Walter (Essex), D Bess (Somerset), J Porter (Essex), T Barber (Middlesex), L Norwell (Gloucestershire). Fixtures: 18th, 21st, 23rd March (all at Kensington Oval, Barbados)