Marcus Scotland has been selected for Surrey’s Under-13 cricket squad for next season.

Interestingly, it was football, not cricket, that prompted his family to relocate to England in July 2014 to pursue trials at Sky Bet Championship outfit Fulham.

After his first year of competitive cricket, Scotland, an opening batsman, has been rated as one of the best 24 cricketers in his age group in Surrey, a county in the South East of England. He is one of 19 players selected for the squad.

Scotland, a midfielder, attended trials at Fulham and had an opportunity to return in September, but his interest had by then switched to cricket.

He is the son of Cleon Scotland and the grandson of Rupert Scotland, the former St George’s Cup Match legend. Cleon also played Cup Match for St George’s.

“When we came to the UK, cricket was the furthest thing from our mind,” Scotland’s father said. “We came because he had an opportunity with Fulham.

“It was progressive trials, meaning we had brought him over three times before and every time we came they wanted to see him again. So my wife and I decided to come over here for a year and see what could come from football. Cricket wasn’t even on the agenda.”

The 12-year-old only began playing with pads and gloves earlier this year but has quickly shown he has some potential in that sport as well.

“When we arrived last July he wanted to go to a cricket camp so I googled cricket camps in the area near Wimbledon and it gave me a club called Spencer Cricket Club and we signed him up.

“Coincidentally, that week his age group coach was Alex Tudor, the former England fast bowler, whose home club is Spencer. After the first day he came over to me and asked ‘is this your son, I think he’s got talent and you should get him assessed by Surrey’. He arranged it and Marcus got assessed and was put into one of the Surrey districts.”

Last season Marcus played for three teams, Spencer CC, London Schools and Surrey District in Inner London, primarily as an opening batsman and ended up being coached by other former England players Dean Headley and Ian Salisbury.

In August, he joined the touring Bermuda Under-14 Development tour of the UK, recording three 50s and averaging 64.33 in five innings.

Scotland took part in three weeks of intensive trials with Surrey.

“Before he finished the Fulham trial we asked him what he wanted to pursue and he said he wanted to try cricket instead of football, so we sat down with Fulham and they gave us an open invitation, saying to give it a year to see if he takes to cricket or not,” Cleon Scotland said.

“Because he enjoys cricket so much he hasn’t been back to Fulham.

“It was never a case of pushing him to play football or cricket, we told him whatever you want to do we’ll support you as long as you give us a good effort in your schooling.”

Twelve months ago, the Bermuda Cricket Board assisted the young cricketer with his winter training fees and that support helped to accelerate his development.

Lloyd Fray, the president of the BCB, said: “I am very proud of Marcus’s achievements to date and I look forward to his continuing development. He is part of a very active and sporting family so it is not a surprise to see him thriving in his new environment.

“I’m particularly heartened by the reports of his academic progress which are mirroring his efforts off the field. I fully expect Marcus to continue to represent himself, his family and Bermuda with pride on and off the field.”

Cleon Scotland is grateful for the support given by the BCB to his son who, a year before, had only played cricket in Bermuda at Saltus Grammar School then without pads and gloves.

“His first taste of real cricket was just in April of this year,” said his father.

“This really pleases us because my father and I both played cricket so he is carrying the torch. We thank the Bermuda Cricket Board for their support. He wants to represent Bermuda.”

The Surrey Under-13 squad will begin a minimum of 12 intensive sessions next year, followed by ten fixtures between May and August. Scotland has also confirmed his availability for the BCB Development Tour to UK in August.

n The BCB also confirmed that Delray Rawlins has been selected for a second season with the Sussex Academy. Rawlins has made great progress at St Bedes School in Eastbourne under the watchful eye of former England batsman Alan Wells.

The BCB supported Delray’s inclusion in the ICC Americas combine in September in addition to the ICC High-Performance camp in Barbados last December.

His continued improvements led to his selection to the ECB Under-17 Super 4s in August, where he represented the London and East region — one of only four Sussex players selected.