SO FAR as good weeks go, they don't come much better than the one Tom Barber has just enjoyed.

The Poole-born 21-year-old has signed a professional deal with county champions Middlesex, a delicious prize for all the hard graft he has invested in his game since being released by Hampshire two years ago.

Now, talking to the Daily Echo, he tells a story sure to make him the envy of every English cricket fan.

"I was net bowling at the Australian team earlier this week," says Barber. "That was pretty good fun. I actually nicked off David Warner.

"It was an unbelievable ball, pitched on middle stump and swung away."

Barber's revelation about getting the better of the brilliant, belligerent Aussie actually only comes about as he contemplates which of his fellow left-arm bowlers around the world he looks to for inspiration.

Aussie paceman Mitchell Starc is high on the list. But it is Starc's countryman and England bogeyman, Mitchell Johnson – specifically his one-man Ashes destruction job in 2013-14 – who Barber cites as the exemplar for how to go about the singular business of fast bowling.

Days earlier, Barber was in rampant mode himself, delivering a hostile spell for Bashley against Alton that yielded four wickets and was rated by respected observers as the most rapid they had witnessed in Southern Premier cricket.

These things don't happen by accident. An assiduous worker – he left Bournemouth School sixth form with A grade A-levels in biology, chemistry and physics – Barber spent his winter perfecting the science of fast bowling.

His ability was never in question. While playing for Hampshire in a one-day match against Yorkshire in 2014 he dismissed Kane Williamson, one of the world's finest all-form batsmen. Barber played six times for England's under-19 team.

In Middlesex bowling coach Richard Johnson, owner of three England Test caps – he found the perfect mentor to hone all that raw talent.

"I've always believed I belonged at a county," says Barber, who also credits his Dorset coach Paul Prichard with having had a mighty influence on his development.

"I worked really hard with Richard Johnson. We've tried to nail my action– I probably did more bowling than most in the winter because if you don’t bowl… you don’t get any better.

"I want to swing the ball consistently, if you bring it back in at pace, as a left-armer, you're always in the game.

"There were offers from elsewhere but working with Jonno was a massive factor in my decision to join Middlesex."

Also instrumental in Barber's decision to move to Lord's on a contract for the remainder of the 2017 campaign was Richard Scott, fellow man of Dorset and the head coach who masterminded the county's title success.

"I've built a very good relationship with Scotty and Jonno," says Barber. "Being released by Hampshire gave me the incentive to work harder.

"I didn’t let it affect me or my confidence. I knew what I needed to do and I'm on my way to doing that.

"I'd never been to Lord’s before I started training with Middlesex, it's a special place.

"My main goal now is to build trust in my action. If I get that right I will take wickets and that's when first-team opportunities come along.

"The ultimate aim is to play for England and I feel there's a gap there for a left-arm quick, especially in Test cricket.

"I did apply to university after my A-levels. But you can always go back to that, you don’t get a second chance at being a cricketer."