Barnsley v Huddersfield Town: Midfielder on cricket, Shropshire roots and a bit of Welsh fire

The Barnsley midfielder, still a teenager, has certainly blossomed in the opening month of the new season for sure, with the keen cricketer impressively stepping up to the first-team crease.

From a sporty family, Bland has the attributes you associate with all good sports people. Competitiveness, confidence but not arrogance and a team ethic.

There’s maturity as well in the way he speaks for a lad who does not turn 20 until October.

As well as being a handy player, there’s another key ingredient to suggest Bland, who previously captained the Reds' under-18s, has a chance.

Genuine drive - and nothing to do with the cover drives he used to play in early teens for Shrewsbury Cricket Club and Shropshire.

It partly stems from his proud Salopian roots. Those who hail from what is - with all due respect - a ‘minor’ sporting county, often have to push that little bit harder to establish themselves.

Of the most famous sporting Salopians is Joe Hart, a son of Shrewsbury like Bland and another who was a fair cricketer in his youth.

While Hart’s quality was there to see from a young age, his mindset also stood out a country mile.

Bland has his own determination too. After getting blooded at the tail-end of last season under Conor Hourihane, pre-season was about busting a gut to show he was ready to be a firm part of his first-team plans.

Bland, who spent a loan spell at Luke Steele’s Peterborough Sports last winter, said: "It (Shrewsbury) is a little bit similar to Barnsley in that it’s a smaller place and not a big city. The sportsmen are hard to come by.

"I think the last one from my school was Billy Jones. He played in the ‘Prem’ and if I have half of the career he has, I’ve done all right.

"After playing the last 10 games of last year, the last thing I wanted to do was struggle in pre-season and get out of the door on a loan.

"I let Conor know I wanted to be here and I was going to try and put in the performances to show he didn’t need to bring in anyone else to replace me. I am hoping I’ve done that.

"Last season sort of ended at a bad time. But to be honest, I didn’t have much of a break. It worked out perfectly, I came back as fit as anything. I can’t complain. I was itching to get back."

As for his other sporting passion, he commented: "I am a bit of a cricket boy as well. I captained my county.

"I was never really that good, I think. We were a minor county and a couple of the boys I played with went onto play for Worcester. I wasn’t as good as Joe Hart for example, who had to choose.”

A Shrewsbury boy he may be, but Bland also has a bit of Welsh fire in his blood with his paternal grandparents hailing from West Wales.

His fine start to the season continued on Friday when he was named in the latest Wales' under-21s squad. He has also represented the principality at under-15, under-16 and under-19 level.

He will have a Tykes team-mate and fellow midfielder for company in the red of Wales during the international break in Vimal Yoganathan, with the duo hopefully having a big future for club and country.

Bland, who signed a new Barnsley deal in late May, said: "I have known Vimal since we were really young. When Wales was split north and south, we were both in with North Wales team and I have camped with Vimal since we were 11 and played with him for years.

"When you have that past and history with someone, you want them to do well. And when you play alongside them, it’s another feeling.

"My dad’s side of family are from Pembrokeshire. He was born in England, but is as Welsh as they come. I’ve real strong connections to that part of Wales and it’s like a second home for me."

Before addressing the media at the club's pre-match press conference, Bland greeted the waiting journalists with a firm handshake.

There was a happy-to-be-here look which you do not see in most teenage professionals when the microphones and cameras are on. That also augurs well.

It's easy to see why Hourihane, no mean midfielder himself, thinks the world of him. Clearly, he can play too.

Bland said: "I can’t speak highly enough of him. Not just as a coach, but as a person. He knows how to handle situations and has been good for me.

"I can’t complain. If you have good people around you and people to learn from, you can only go one way. And that’s in life in general. It’s been a real pleasure, so far."