There aren’t too many cricketers who use the word ‘symbiotic’ when talking about their chosen sport.

But that was the word used by Cirencester’s Jamie Jamieson-Black when discussing his on-field relationship with brothers Jock and Jono.

All three are in their mid-20s and have been big players for the club as they have finished third and fourth in the Gloucestershire Division of the West of England Premier League over the past couple of campaigns.

“We help each other play better,” said 26-year-old Jamie. “We’re competitive and supportive but we do call each other out because we have really high standards.”

Jock, a left arm off-spinner, is 27, while Jono, who bats at three and bowls off-spin, is 23. Jamie, meanwhile, bats at four and bowls occasional off-spin.

“Both open the bowling or bowl first change,” said Jamie. “Jock really spins the ball and when he bats at the end of an innings he likes to give it a whack.”

When pushed, Jamie says that Jono is the best of the three.

“He’s got the most potential and the best cricketing brain, but Jock absolutely maximises his ability,” he said.

All three will need to maximise their ability this season if Cirencester are to win promotion to Premier Two Glos/Wilts, something they were very close to achieving in 2021.

“That was incredibly frustrating,” said Jamie, who was captain at the time. “We’d have gone up that year but for the rain at Corse and Staunton. We were beating them easily before the rain hit, they went up and we didn’t. I still have sleepless nights over that!”

The Jamieson-Blacks have been playing for Cirencester since the age of five or six and Jamie, a former Cheltenham College pupil, is a big fan of the club, as you’d expect.

“Cirencester have a really good youth set-up,” he said. “It’s great fun for the three of us playing together and it’s great fun playing with guys we’ve played with for the past five or six years.”

It will be even more fun if Cirencester, who will be captained by Billy Breen for a second season, can secure the one promotion place up for grabs, of course.

“For us it’s about winning the tight games,” continued Jamie. “In the last couple of seasons we’ve not always done that and that’s cost us 30 points.

“Winning promotion is going to be tough – Dumbleton will be very good – but we’re dreaming big.

“If we hit form at the right time I’m hopeful we can go up.

“We’ve got Ellis and Louis Sabbagh-Holt coming through, and James Boyle and Jonny Gunn are both seriously talented guys.

“We’ve got all the tools in the shed to produce a really good season, it’s just a question of doing it.”