Uzi Qureshi has been captain of Frocester Cricket Club for a relatively short period of time but he certainly sees the role as part of a long-term project.

The 25-year-old took over from the long-serving Nick Trainor at the start of this season and although promotion back to Premier One of the West of England Premier League is one of the stated targets after last season’s relegation, it is by no means his only aim.

“Nick [Trainor] asked me about halfway through last season if I’d like to take over as captain this year and after a bit of thought I said ‘yes’ as long as I could do things a certain way,” explained Qureshi.

“I want to look after the young players – Will Naish, Alex Russell, Jack Worgan, Chad Trainor, Harry Senior. They are the future of the club.

“I told the committee that if I took on the role I wanted to make sure that the younger players are getting opportunities.”

You get the impression that the young players coming through the club system over the next few years will enjoy playing for Qureshi, who is very easy to interview and has a ready laugh.

Qureshi is still a pretty young player himself even though he has been established in Frocester’s flagship team for a good number of years now.

A top-order batsman – he doesn’t mind whether he opens or bats at three – he is in his sixth season with the club after learning his cricket at Chippenham.

So why did he leave Chippenham to play for Frocester?

“I was in the Gloucestershire academy at the time and my academy coach said I should be playing at a higher level,” he said. “He put me in touch with a number of clubs and Nick Trainor came out to my home to see me.

“I liked what he had to say so I joined the club.”

Ironically both Frocester and Chippenham are playing at the same level this season – Premier Two Gloucestershire/Wiltshire – but although Qureshi has very fond memories of his time with Chippenham, Frocester are very much his club now.

“I love the club,” he said. “I live in Swindon so it’s a long drive but it’s where I’ve developed my cricket.

“I learned a lot from Nick Trainor – he’s a great captain and bloke – and it’s nice to give something back to the club after all they’ve done for me.”

And it certainly is a two-way thing because playing for Frocester helped him overcome the disappointment of being released from the Gloucestershire academy when he was 21.

“I wasn’t expecting it,” he admitted. “At the time I was doing quite well in the 2nds.”

Qureshi’s contemporaries at Gloucesterhire included Craig Miles, Liam Norwell, Chris Dent and David Payne, who have all carved out very decent careers as county cricketers.

He also played alongside a couple of future England players during his time at Chippenham – James Vince and Liam Dawson – who were coached at the club by Dave Simpkins, someone who also coached Qureshi and for whom he has the highest regard.

Qureshi moved to Chippenham from London with his family when he was six and Simpkins wasn’t his only big supporter in those early years,

His dad Asad, who played a handful of games for Surrey 2nds when the family lived in the capital, also had a big influence with Qureshi junior adding: “My dad threw millions of balls at me over the years.”

The young Qureshi was obviously a very good learner and he also showed captaincy potential from an early age because he was skipper at county age group level, for Gloucestershire academy and when he was at school.

So what sort of captain is he?

“I’m very different from Nick,” he said. “He was very organised and understood the game.

“I’m still learning. I’d say I’m quite a quiet captain but when we’re on the ropes I try to bring it all together. I’m lucky because I’ve got quite a few senior players which is a big help.”

And what about his batting?

“I like to bat 50 overs if I can,” he said, “I like to bat for a long time.”

And if he does that’s certainly good news for Frocester, and it’s also good news that he’s set out his stall to be captain of Frocester Cricket Club for a long time as well.