HE is described as the biggest mover in squash at the present time but that refers more to his world ranking than to his uprooting from his native Australia to settle in Ilkley.

Anthony Ricketts is a 23 year-old who won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

This came after training in Ilkley under Kiwi Robbie Burnett whose reputation as a top coach is growing almost as fast as Ricketts' fame.

Born and brought up in Sydney, Australia, the young Ricketts took up the game of squash at the age of nine. He was interested in other sports but gravitated to the local squash centre where his mother was the manager.

He played in junior events all over Australia and won his country's junior championships aged 15 and 16. He was then awarded a scholarship with the Australian Institute of Sport in Brisbane and completed his education there.

He was then granted Government funding and began playing the circuit in 1996.

He came to England and was based in Reading for five years but fell in love with Ilkley when the Australian Commonwealth Games squad held their pre-Games camp at Ilkley Squash Club last year.

"I had been thinking of moving to the North of England for some time. My girlfriend - New Zealand international Shelley Kitchen - had worked with Robbie Burnett at Ilkley and spoke highly of him.

"We came to Ilkley for the pre-Games camp and I loved it. It was a bonus having Robbie around, he has some great ideas. He is a bit different to other people I have been involved with and he has made a difference to my game," said Ricketts.

He added: "Shelley and I decided to come and live in Ilkley and we have been renting property but now we have decided to settle here and are buying a house."

"I fell in love with Ilkley straight away. It is so friendly and the people here are so helpful. It is a much different lifestyle than in the south of England. If I had to compare Australia to England it would be with the north and not the south," said Ricketts.

Ricketts is certainly a rising star of the squash world and he hopes to have broken into the top five by the end of the year.

"I have my highest world ranking of No 7 at the moment having moved from No 11 to No 9 and then upwards. My ultimate aim of course is to be World No 1 but that is a couple of years down the line.

"I reckon I have about eight years left as a top professional and then I will return home to Australia," said Ricketts.