Cricket: Preston Mommsen's all-round talent attracting the English Counties

Whether for his Carlton club or a Scotland cricket team he qualified to represent on residency after leaving his native South Africa on a scholarship to Gordonstoun School, the 23-year-old is rapidly establishing himself as the "all-rounder's all-rounder" as he finds ways of influencing outcomes.

So much so, in fact, that it might be a case of catch him while you can as his performances with bat, ball and as an acrobatic fielder are increasingly geared to attract the attentions of the full-time English counties in a way that the largely amateur Scottish scene simply can't match.

If Preston's innings of 73 not out at Durham and 81 at Northants at the beginning of this season's Clydesdale Bank Pro 40 series were not reminders enough of his talent the past week has seen him go into overdrive with a knock of 24 not out and bowling figures of 2-20 in the last-gasp four-run win over Warwickshire on Tuesday.

It all started in the Saltires' morale-boosting win against Ireland when, almost from out of the blue, he popped up to take three vital wickets from his off-spin in successive balls.

Later, Mommsen would play his part in a victory charge with 20 valuable runs and if he failed to reach double figures with the bat the following day against Sri Lanka there was still the wickets of Dinesh Chandimal and Thalina Kandamby to throw into the team pot.

Sunday's win over Northants in the CB 40 saw Mommsen at the heart of the action again and although there were no wickets for him, two reflex catches removed Ben Howgego and Alex Wakely while his pice de rsistance in the field was a goalkeeper-like dive and parry to prevent a certain six-hit; with the game so tight it looked as though that might even had been the decisive action.

On the subject of clearing the ropes, Mommen managed the feat twice himself in a whirlwind knock of 32 from 21 balls against Northants in a fashion which contrasted with the understated style one of Scottish cricket's hottest properties presented of himself afterwards.

"I've been hitting the ball well, just trying to keep it simple and keep doing the things I've been working on and its kept going. So long as I'm contributing something towards the team performance I'm happy.

"Obviously, I keep my preparation the same and do things that are working for me."

Always polite and affable as he is, nevertheless, Mommsen's eyes really light up and he becomes more animated when discussing the possibility of returning to England where he had a brief spell with Kent Seconds a few years back.

"I'd love to make a career out of cricket and this is certainly helping my confidence. I keep looking to put scores on the doors.This is a shop window," he says.

Asked about his fielding prowess, he adds: "The last couple of games have seen our fielding come on leaps and bounds. We were due a good performance in the field. Guys were really diving around and taking some good catches. I look to contribute as much as possible and the field is definitely something I feel strong in."

No disrespect to Northants - and they did put their unbeaten CB40 record on the line - but they were understandably not on a par with World Cup finalists Sri Lanka, as Mommsen noted, saying: "We lost but can still take confidence from playing Sri Lanka and facing some world-class bowlers.

"In a way it was almost coming down a level (against Northants]. We still had to play properly but that was easier than facing (Lasith] Malinga bowling at 90mph."

What has made Mommsen's contributions even more astonishing, though, is the fact he has also been balancing a job and studies while, in between his international assignments, he helped Carlton lift the annual Murgitroyd Masterton Trophy by beating Grange and, typically, taking a couple of wickets, a couple of catches and claiming 22 not out with the bat.

The man who is top-scorer in the Scottish Premiership with 152 against Dunfermline explains: "I'm part-time with Cricket Scotland but work full-time as a trainee quantity surveyor including one day a week on release at university."

Clearly, juggling is something he is good at - except with those catches out in the field; they invariably stick.

"I'd love to make a career out of cricket. I keep looking to put scores on the doors"