Alex Barnett learned his game at Brondesbury rather than at school and was selected for Middlesex as a left-arm opening bowler cum batsman, but Don Wilson, the MCC head coach, took one look and converted him into a spinner. He made his debut for Middlesex as a 17-year-old in 1988, and in 1988-89 and 1989-90 toured Pakistan and Australia with the England Under-19 side. But his second county outing did not come until late in 1991 when he took match figures of 7 for 236 against Derbyshire. By then, he had already decided to move to Lancashire as he was not likely to challenge Phil Tufnell for the left-armer's berth. In three seasons at Old Trafford he took 103 first-class wickets, albeit not cheaply, before being released at the end of 1994. He turned out once for Surrey in 1995 and went on to represent Berkshire.

After his cricket career ended, Barnett became involved in the internet and worked for Microsoft in the UK and USA. He is currently vice president - community - at Bungee Labs a startup based in Orem, Utah.
Cricinfo staff