He’s seen and done plenty during a two-decade journey in the sport of cricket, one which started a long way away in West Yorkshire.
Of course, it didn’t have to be this way; a multi-talented youngster, West could have gone down any of a handful of pathways.
In settling on donning the helmet and wielding the willow full-time, though, it appears he made a fulfilling call.
While Cricket Shepparton is a new-found realm to the veteran opener, he’s more than used to life playing down south — on both sides of the Tasman.
In fact, another universe might have provided the opportunity for him to introduce himself to the region much sooner.
“When I was 21, I did Perth and I was in Auckland for a couple of years in my mid-20s,” West said.
“The Perth weather certainly caught me off guard a lot, the way it was bringing out weather in the early 40 degrees.
“I ended up spending time in that area and it was a shock to the system, but whilst over there, I was pricing up places in Melbourne.
“Unfortunately, it was a bit much for a young lad in the end — couldn’t borrow enough off my parents.”
He’s definitely not mad about where it’s taken him, though, or — more to the point — where he finds himself now.
“I played a lot of sports. It was a choice between cricket, football and rugby,” West said.
“Eventually, cricket became the one I most enjoyed, so I stuck at it and now I’ve eventually found myself in Tat enjoying the sun.”
Getting to this stage of his career, West largely assumed he had reached the end of his Oceanic ventures before a change in visa eligibility opened up the door once more.
With Tatura coach Daniel Coombs serving as a common link for the middle men which granted West another summer Down Under, the decision was a no-brainer from there.
“When all the visas changed last year and the age range for people to be able to apply became 18 to 35, I registered with an agent,” West said.
“It turned out ‘Coombsy’ had used the same one about a decade ago to come over here, so he was keen to get the ball rolling.
“He saw my league was pretty strong back home and thought Tat might have needed an experienced batsman.”
Indeed, West made the long trip out of the Bradford and Huddersfield cricketing districts, home to two competitions which help make up the top level of club cricket across the English Cricket Board’s many realms.
He’s had a few handy run-ins along the way, both at First XI level and on his way up the ranks locally.
“I’d have about 20 years of first-team cricket, but unfortunately I haven’t gotten any better over the years,” West said.
“I played a bit against Joe Root growing up, although, I didn’t end up quite as good as him.
“I played a couple with and against Sikandar Raza at ECB Prem level, and he was a bit of a freak at that point.”
Not bad sharpening yourself early on against England’s greatest Test run-scorer or sharing a locker room with one of Zimbabwe’s great all-rounders, right?
Again, though, West realises that unlike some other imports, his stay in the Haisman Shield is not about opening up chances to progress towards higher ranks.
That said, he’s not showing up as a winding-down journeyman resting on his laurels either — there’s still work to do after the promising start his side has made to this campaign.
“I’ve been there and done that and I don’t think there’s a County pathway ahead of me at the age of 33,” West said.
“It’s about benefitting the team for me. Obviously, a couple of scores along the way would be really good, but it would be nice just to perform and make finals.”
Through four rounds of action, West is averaging 18.25 with an early highlight coming on debut against Shepparton Youth Club United, where he made 45.
Regardless of where it takes him in the middle, though, he’s going to enjoy the ride in his element.
“I’m a bit of a country boy back home, so the quiet nature appealed to me,” West said.
“I’ve been in cities and done the beach holidays before, so I wasn’t worried about being somewhere quieter; it’s a beautiful part of the country here.”
