Born to a Bajan father who had represented Guyana at cricket it was no surprise that Keith Barker picked up a bat at a young age (he was playing under 13s cricket when he was 6!). But growing up in Manchester, and talented with his feet as well as his hands, his head was turned by football and he signed a scholarship, followed by a pro, with Blackburn Rovers (then an established Premier League side). He went on to play in Belgium with Cercle Brugge, for Rochdale and in Ireland with St Patrick's Athletic, before a stint at Northwich Victoria and his head turned back to cricket. More than 500 first class wickets and 5,000 runs later, he reflects on what both these great sports taught him.

This series we are partnering with University Campus of Football Business and have recorded episodes at their Media City studios in Salford and at their studio next to Wembley Stadium. This episode was recorded on Zoom out of necessity.

For more information on UCFB visit their website here - https://www.ucfb.ac.uk/

You can follow us on our social media @journeyspod on Instagram and Threads and we're still hanging around on X for a while! You might even find us on TikTok too!