‘‘I hadn’t lived at home since I was 16 and didn’t have a job and didn’t have much to keep me there. I guess the sacrifice, the hard work, probably came more from her than me.’’

When the pair met, Shannon had been studying law and working three jobs, including as a legal clerk, but later agreed to shift south when Tremain, having struggled for a regular game with NSW after debuting in 2011-12, decided a fresh approach was required.

It was easier for Tremain, originally from the small central western NSW town of Yeoval, near Dubbo, to adjust, because he had spent two years at boarding school in Orange.

‘‘I was never an academic at school. I didn’t like school much but the lifestyle at boarding school was great fun,’’ he said.

‘‘I probably went home for a handful of months when I had a shoulder reconstruction after school and I wasn’t able to play cricket. I didn’t go very well at school, either, so I wasn’t able to go to university straight away.

‘‘I found myself in limbo a bit at home so I packed up and moved to Sydney to play cricket.’’

As with Victorian teammate Marcus Harris, another to have shifted interstate in a bid to improve, Tremain’s elevation was reward for sustained performance.

Last season he took 51wickets at 21.07 to be the Shield’s leading wicket-taker, and was crowned the competition’s best player. He has added 24 wickets at 20.45 this season.

‘‘I think I have a good grasp of Shield cricket at the moment. I have worked out how to take wickets, I have played a lot of it, I have played against the opponents that I have played for a long time,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s a matter of finding whatever weakness they might have or however we might match up to them and constantly doing it.’’

‘‘ There has to be some improvement there through fitness and a little bit of bowling repetition but also just doing the simple things right.’’