Young star Sam Robson prepares to shine for the old enemy Citizen of the world: Sam Robson at the SCG nets with his father Jim on Wednesday. When they dream big, actors go to Los Angeles, financiers to New York and lawyers to The Hague. For young cricketers, chasing opportunity often means heading to London. The buzz Sam Robson felt in his early days at Middlesex County Cricket Club is probably similar to the experience of young Australians turning up for work in Hollywood, on Wall Street or at the world's great law courts. "Just being at Lord's, I thought 'This is too good to be true,' " he says, sipping orange juice at a Paddington cafe up the road from where he was born, not far from the SCG. Playing there, living in London, being a professional cricketer - I loved it as soon as I got there. I couldn't believe it was my job. Robson notching up a century for Middlesex in Birmingham earlier this year. It came about when, a few months after finishing school in Sydney's south-east, Robson's first-grade teammate at Eastern Suburbs, Englishman Tim Murtagh, introduced the Australia under-19s batting all-rounder to staff at Middlesex. Robson's interest had been piqued a few years earlier when, on a junior NSW tour, he'd seen what the English set up offered. By 18, he had a Blues rookie contract, "but at the time there were a lot of guys ahead of me," he says. I just wanted to become a professional cricketer, wherever I had to go to chase it. So he deferred from an arts degree at Sydney University and, with access to a British passport through his English mother, headed to the home of cricket to "have a bit of a crack." In short time, after impressing in second XI matches, Robson gained a contract and was playing at Lord's with and against international level cricketers. "I just thought 'Yep, this is a good place to be,' " he says. It was also a nurturing place to be. When Robson tours Sri Lanka in the new year with the English Lions - following his England Performance Program trip to Australia this month, which yielded two tons against state second XIs - he can look back on six years of progress that, arguably, he wouldn't have experienced had he stayed in Australia. With regular first-class cricket evenly spread across the northern summer, Robson, who counts the long-form game as his priority, says he is "indebted to the system" in England, which "has helped me develop, helped me to become a better player." So impressive have his recent seasons been - and so entrenched in the English structure has he become - that a growing band of admirers are expecting Robson to be capped for England, possibly soon given the team's Ashes capitulation. However, amid the heated Australia-England cricketing rivalry, Robson's case has elicited mixed reactions. Overwhelmingly, he says, people have been accepting about his recent call to be available to the old enemy, which he felt he had to make "all of a sudden" as the conversation arose. But, the 24-year-old - whose younger brother Angus recently signed with Leicestershire - has heard snarls from some, who believe he should be striving instead for a baggy green. "I knew it would happen," he says. In sport you're going to be criticised for something and this is my thing. But I've lived in England for six years now. I wasn't brought up there, but I've spent my whole adult life there. Robson is thankful to many people in Australia, among them batting coach Warren Smith and staff at Cricket NSW including former chief executive David Gilbert and his successor Andrew Jones, all of whom he says have been supportive. "I've never pretended that I didn't grow up in Australia," he says. I'm proud of my ties to Australia. It's more that I've lived in England for a long time because that's where my career is, it's where I work. While some find it hard to accept that a boy who grew up playing in the backyard at Kingsford would want to play for England, those who know Robson's story and are familiar with the complexities of international cricket can see past the parochialism. Robson's father Jim played for years for University of NSW first-grade. Jim travelled to England to play a handful of times and returned with English cricket magazines for his sons, who grew to be interested in the entire cricket world. Young Sam would watch his father play at UNSW, where there were often visiting county players and he would follow their careers. "I was no different to any other Australian kid growing up with cricket," he says. But, at the same time, I was aware of English cricket probably more than some others. By age 15, the youngster was beginning to stand out. He played junior cricket for Randwick, spent a couple of years at UNSW and then Easts, where he teamed up with Brad Haddin and David Warner. Murtagh then suggested he experience playing in England. Jim Robson, who manages the indoor practice centre at the SCG, says his sons have shown initiative by pursuing professional careers overseas. Why should they be criticised? If you're getting to do what you always wanted to do, people should be happy for you," Robson snr says. They're on a wonderful adventure. They wanted to play against good players, on good grounds and experience that life. It could last a very short time, so I'm glad they're getting to experience it. So is Mark O'Neill, the former NSW batsman-turned batting coach, who worked extensively with Robson at Middlesex. However, O'Neill is less forgiving of the Australian system. "Sometimes in Australia good players miss the boat but, unfortunately, in this case the boat actually missed Sam," O'Neill says. He should have been picked up. He's scored way too many runs for it to be a fluke in a competition that's every bit as strong as the Sheffield Shield. O'Neill says Robson plays pace and spin equally well, has good footwork and, while he "plays to his own beat," he is "very intelligent, asks questions and if he thinks the advice is good, he'll forge ahead with it." I'm glad the England selectors are serious about having a look at a guy who loves cricket, has a good technique and gives you his best every time he goes out to bat. O'Neill believes Robson wouldn't have made the decision to declare for England unless he was "absolutely sure about what he wanted." However, he added: "Go back four years and it might have been different. Deep down, if you're born in Australia, you grew up in Australia and your father's Australian, you are Australian. But, like so many people, he went to England for more opportunity and he's found it. He deserves credit for that. In the 18-team county competition, O'Neill explains, players such as Robson have more scope to create a career than in Australia. "If you've got any talent, if you miss out somewhere, you'll get picked up somewhere else," he says. Here, we've got six states - and there have been some interesting selection policies around them for the last few years. Everybody makes mistakes ... but I think the Australian system missed a very good cricketer in Sam. The one that got away was not necessarily for lack of effort. Robson says he's been regularly offered contracts by NSW and other states. But each year he has declined because it would have meant giving up playing in England. Finally, in August, Cricket Australia introduced what is unofficially known as "Robson's Rule," which allowed dual passport holders to play domestic cricket in more than one country. For this fish, however, it appears too late. "It would have been good to play cricket here over the last four or five years," he says. But there was never really an option to come back. There's scope there now for me to play domestic cricket in Australia as an overseas player down the line, if anyone ever wanted me. But having said that, it's a bigger decision now, it's a life decision. London's a great place. I live near Lord's, near the city. There's always a great energy around, always something happening. I've had friends from Australia come and stay with me. I've done a lot of travelling. You just jump on a plane and an hour and a half later you're in Greece or Spain or somewhere different. I went to a couple of shows this year. It's a different lifestyle, but it's a great life. The youngest Australian to score a first-class hundred at Lord's realises that if his career progresses to the top level, he will always walk a fine line between his home country and his adopted country. "But I've tried not to get too het up about it all because I haven't actually played for anyone yet, and I might never," he says. I don't know how my cricket's going to end up. I've had a good year or two but it could all change ... I could be back in London or in Sydney with no contract. I'm just enjoying myself at the moment. When I first went to London I didn't know how it would pan out. I just wanted to have a bit of a crack. But I'm aware of how fickle it all is and I just want to continue improving.