Aston Villa signing Brett Holman admits he could've been lost to cricket.

His brother and father were both accomplished cricketers, while his grandfather once played against Australian batting royalty in a battle of Holman versus Bradman.

"I wasn't bad at cricket when I was younger," said Holman. "I gave it a go.

"My father was big into his cricket - and my brother was as well - so I think he would have liked to have made a cricketer out of me, but I chose something different!

"But, seriously, they have been very supportive of my football career.

"They will be over in the next couple of months to see my son, who was born recently, and I'm sure my dad will want to catch a couple of games of cricket while he's over here. It will be good to have them over."