THE clue is in the name. He might not pass a modified version of the old Tebbit test in cricket because he would prefer the All Blacks to win this Test series against the Lions but there is no shortage of Scottish blood coursing through the veins of Cameron Norrie, the 21-year-old who makes a rather left-field name in the list of entrants for this year's AEGON Championships at Queen's Club, which begin tomorrow.

Considering the rest of the field, led by world No 1 and defending champion Andy Murray, is almost entirely comprised of the great and good of the world's top 50 players, Norrie, who plays as a wild card and as world No 230, will have his work cut out for him. But there will be no-one else in the field with a bigger opportunity to make a name for himself, nor anyone else who has travelled a longer journey in his bid to break the big time.

Cameron, you see, was born in Johannesburg to a Scottish father and a Welsh mother, only for the family to relocate to Auckland when he was a toddler. When he began showing promise in tennis during his teenage years - he was a top-10 junior player who beat Alexander Zverev and Borna Coric - the consensus was that New Zealand wasn't the most convenient of bases, so he moved back to be part of the more cash-rich UK system.

In retrospect this may have been too much upheaval too soon. So before long, this young man had moved again, to Forth Worth, Texas, where he embarked on a tennis scholarship at Texas Christian University (TCU). Three years in the deep south saw him rise to the No 1 collegiate player in the NCAA rankings and lay down roots which will serve him well now he has decided, just a matter of weeks ago, to give it a go in the pro ranks. Another huge shot in the arm was being given a surprise invite by Davis Cup captain Leon Smith to be fifth man during Britain's Andy Murrayless Davis Cup tie against Canada in Ottawa.

"Leon, as you know, runs a really tight squad," Norrie's father David said from Auckland. "So he got a glimpse of how professional the team were. He saw first hand what it is really like at the top level and all the team, guys like Jamie Murray, made him really welcome. They could see how good he was, because he was hitting with Kyle [Edmund] and Dan [Evans]. So that was a good stepping stone for him. I'm sure having a wee bit of Scottish blood in there hasn't done him too much harm!

"If it was rugby he could play for one or two pretty good teams, because he was born in Johannesburg, brought up in New Zealand, his dad is Scottish and his mum is Welsh. If you were to ask him I don't think he would say he doesn't support the All Blacks, but the reality is that he has a big Scottish and British heritage there, and his tennis was going nowhere if he had stayed in New Zealand.

"So he had to leave one way or another. My mother is still alive, she is in a rest home in Glasgow, and I've got a brother up in Aberdeen, so in time he'll get to know the family there but in tennis you do a lot of travelling, and there isn't a lot of tennis in Scotland so he might not be playing up there too much. At the moment he is staying at the NTC in Roehampton, but after Wimbledon he will probably go to play in the States, and make his base in the States."

Norrie's biggest pro win came against Malik Jaziri, the world No 71 - he lost narrowly to Kenny de Schepper in Nottingham last week - but the standard at Queen's Club is more even more daunting. With apologies to the likes of Jonny O'Mara, David reckons his son should really have the billing of Scotland's No 2 singles player and he may yet have a chance this week to take on the No 1 - both from Scotland and indeed the world. Having been paired with the big-hitting world No 28 Sam Querrey of the USA in yesterday's first-round draw, victory is likely to mean a showdown with none other than Andy Murray, whose five Queens club titles are the most of any player in the Open era. With the Wimbledon wild card committee to sit down at the All England Club on Tuesday to make their selections for this year's Championships, a good showing would be timely indeed.

"He did three of the four years out in the States but when he finished he was the No 1 ranked player in the NCAA and he had nowhere else to go so it was inevitable he would turn pro," David said. "During the summer where he wasn't at college, he had started playing challenger and futures tournaments, and he got to the final of a challenger last year where he lost to Dan Evans.

"He beat Jaziri a fortnight ago but at Queens he will be playing guys who are top 20 so this will be a new experience for him.

"Sometimes the atmosphere can be pretty tense in big college matches but this will be the biggest tournament he has ever played.

"You never like to say and nothing is a done deal but I would like to think he is in with a chance of getting into a main draw wild card [for Wimbledon]. We are going to come over the weekend before Wimbledon anyway, because we haven't seen him for a while. But we are not under any illusions, it is a long, long road to get to the top level."