HOME AND AWAY/WILLIAM PORTERFIELD: William Porterfield is the captain of the Irish cricket team. He is from Co Tyrone and plays professionally with Gloucestershire. He is a batsman and an outstanding fielder, skills which, along with Niall O'Brien's batting, made him crucial to Ireland's win over Pakistan in the World Cup last year.

I'M FROM Tyrone, a little place about three miles from Donemana, which you probably haven't heard of. But that's where I grew up, in the country. We had a cricket club there, which was one of the lower league country clubs called Killyclooney, where my father played.

I was 13 years old when I moved to Donemana and used to go down to the club at weekends. I wouldn't always play for them, but if they were short I'd get in to bat at 10 or 11. That's really where my cricket started for me, just wandering down to the club to watch my dad playing.

It's how the majority of people get into the sport up in the northwest of Ireland, and it's the sort of place where there would be a lot of ties into the local club.

I played cricket from that age the whole way up. Played on the under-13s at 12 years old, then progressed from there playing at every representative under-age level.

It was something I've always loved about the game, those summers where you'd spend a couple of weeks away somewhere.

I think the younger you are the easier it is to pick up the basics of the game. You learn what it is you have to do to progress yourself. It wouldn't have been too technical when I was a youngster, just the simple things of the game. Watching the ball and things like that.

In my school, Strabane Grammar, there were about 350 pupils. It was mainly a rugby school. Rugby in the winter and cricket in the summer.

Growing up, I always wanted to play cricket full-time, although it was only over the past four or five years that I started to believe that I could. Growing up in Donemana, you only knew what was happening in England, and when Ed (Joyce) went across it made other people believe that they could do the same.

I finally came over to England at 17 years old after I'd finished my A Level exams. I joined the MCC Young Cricketers and was based in Leeds. Then, in the summer time, we'd travel down to the MCC. We had to sort everything out for ourselves and I stayed in Hampstead in a hostel with the other lads in the group.

The MCC Young Cricketers mainly played against county second XI sides. Their profile has risen over the years and I think that it was a good platform for young cricketers to learn the trade and to come on.

It wasn't easy to be away from home and my family at the beginning. But then I began to like the life. I grew up and worked hard at it.

The year I finished with the MCC, I stayed in London to take part in trials. This was just after the World Cup in 2007. I'd played a few games for Gloucestershire in 2007 and then, at the end of that season I was offered a two-year deal. Now I've got a one-year extension to that.

In the first year the expectations were not that high. But I got a chance in the team and I managed to stay in there for the whole season. I really could not have hoped for a better start.

The World Cup, the whole seven weeks, was also a great experience.

Just to be there, to look and learn, and then the self-belief you took away with you. We learned that we could actually compete at that level and score runs if we did the hard yards.

Everyone at that World Cup thought that Pakistan would beat us. We won the toss, knew the wicket was a bit green and fielded. We went out and enjoyed it. Niall (O'Brien) played out of his skin. We enjoyed it and we believed. There was no pressure. We played cricket freely.

Career wise, it was Adrian Birrell (then Irish coach) who really helped me. When he came over to Ireland he told me that my fielding must improve.

I said that I wanted to be the best in Ireland. If you are not a bowler, fielding is one of the aspects of your game that will help your career. That really hit home. It allows you to bring more to the party than just batting.

Trent (Johnston) kept on the Irish captaincy after the World Cup and in March of this year I was made vice-captain.

Then Trent stepped down and I took over at 23 years of age. I try not to let the captaincy affect me, and when I'm out batting I don't think of it. But, at other times, you have to try to set an example and I have to think about the field, think more about the things that might affect the team.

Now I like the cricket lifestyle. Sometimes it's not easy with the travel and the time, although the older, married guys find that more difficult than I do. But I'm playing with a good bunch of lads, a bunch of mates. There are not many people that are able to say they do that.