KENT all-rounder James Tredwell is hoping that a third season of club cricket in Australia this winter will help to resurrect his first team chances.

The 23-year-old former England Under-19 captain was restricted to just two county championship appearances last summer-taking three wickets at 47.33, but he is determined to improve both his batting and off-spin bowling during the next eight weeks down under before returning to Canterbury for pre-season training in mid-March.

Tredwell, who finished second on the Kent Totesport League bowling averages with 13 wickets at 22.61, believes he can make a similar impact in four-day cricket alongside first-choice spinner Min Patel.

"I am playing for the Redlands Tigers -the same team as Glamorgan wicket-keeper Mark Wallace- in the second grade of the Brisbane Cup," Tredwell said.

"It's my third season as a self-funded player for Redlands after two seasons in 2001 and 2002. I played in the first grade then but have started in the seconds this time around.

"I played my first two-day game - played on successive Saturdays- last week. I took 1-30 off 14 overs and scored 37 off 60 balls which was not too bad for my first game.

"The standard is similar to playing in the Kent Premier League for my Folkestone but the set-up here, especially in the first-grade, is more professional.

"We train three days a week, so it’s an ideal way to spend my pre-season-actually playing-rather than being stuck at home in the indoor nets."

Looking ahead to the new county season Tredwell is confident that the appointment of former England batsman Robert Key to replace David Fulton, who stood down at the end of last season, as captain will make Kent a tougher nut to crack in both four-day and one-day cricket.

After finishing third from bottom in the second division of the totesport League, Tredwell believes that an improvement in the team’s one-day performances will be high up on Key’s priority list at the start of the season.

He said: "Robert Key is a very experienced cricketer who has an exceptional cricket brain. He has been 'one of the lads' and is someone all of the boys can relate to on and off the field.

"Last season if we had beaten Nottinghamshire in the second last four-day game of the season we would have won the Championship.

"The gap between us and the top sides in the totesport League is also not that great, so hopefully with Robert installed as captain we will all give that little bit extra to have a successful season.

"I think one-day cricket will be a massive focus for the club and the players this year after two or three very disappointing seasons."

Before then, Tredwell is hoping to be that rare English cricketer who shines in Australia.

He said: "I want to use the time in Queensland to develop my all round game. If I can become a genuine all rounder for Kent it will make it harder for the selectors to drop me."