Joshua Gilbert believes that he found his purpose in life when he first picked up a cricket bat at age two.

He has been pursuing his goal of being a great cricketer ever since.

Now 16, the slow bowler is the youngest person on the Bermuda Senior National Cricket Team and hopes to be a professional cricketer one day.

When he graduates from the Berkeley Institute next year Joshua plans to continue his studies in the UK. If if all goes well, he hopes to eventually play English County Cricket.

And while he plans to study dentistry in case his dreams don't come to fruition, he readily admits that cricket is his true love.

"I just love the game," said Joshua. "When I was two my father won a set of wickets, a bat and ball and I have been playing since. It has been a privilege doing what I love to do everyday and I want to keep doing it for the rest of my life. I don't care if I get paid to play or not, I do it because I love it."

His decision to pursue dentistry became more focused after he received a passing grade in his science GCSE.

"I want to study dentistry because I love smiles," he joked. "But really it is a career that does a lot of good and it helps people so if cricket doesn't work out I could be a dentist."

Having had a place on every national cricket team including a stint as captain on both the Under-13 and Under-15 teams Joshua has spent most of his young life on the cricket pitch.

Last year, aged 15, Joshua was one of the youngest players in history to represent Somerset in the annual Cup Match event and he hopes to play again this year.

"It was a privilege and an honour to play at the classic representing my club, Somerset," he said. "Even though I was playing in front of the whole Country I wasn't too nervous.

"It was just like a normal game but with more people watching. If all goes well I will be selected to play again in Cup Match this summer but right now I am focused on playing the best I can for my Country."

Joshua is touted as one of the most promising young cricketers on the Island.

He was chosen as the Young Cricketer of the year in 2008 and hopes to eventually follow in the footsteps of his great uncle Joe Bailey, a legendary Cup Match skipper for Somerset.

The rising star is hoping to make his debut in this weekend's ICC Americas Championship at The National Stadium.

"I am pretty hopeful going into the tournament," he said. "There will be some stiff competition from the US and Canadian teams. Cayman, the Bahamas and Argentina are getting better also so it should be an interesting tournament."

With the support of his family, Joshua is on the path to making his mark in Bermuda's long history of great cricketers.