Eddie Byrom signs pro deal with Somerset

Sport
RISING Zimbabwean cricket prodigy Eddie Byrom has been rewarded for a string of impressive performances since moving to England two years ago after signing his first professional contract — a two-year deal — with English county side Somerset.

RISING Zimbabwean cricket prodigy Eddie Byrom has been rewarded for a string of impressive performances since moving to England two years ago after signing his first professional contract — a two-year deal — with English county side Somerset.

BY DANIEL NHAKANISO

Eddie Byrom on the field of play
Eddie Byrom on the field of play

The 20-year-old son of former sports journalist Glen Byrom was born in Harare and attended St John’s College from where he featured prominently for Zimbabwe’s age group teams between 2011 and 2015.

Byrom has been a revelation for Somerset’s Academy and later Second XI sides since being signed by the county on a scholarship contract last year while still a scholar at King’s College in Taunton.

After signing on the dotted line, the hard-hitting left-handed opener said he was delighted to fulfil his childhood dream of becoming a professional cricketer.

“It’s brilliant. Ever since I was small I’ve aspired to be a professional cricketer so this is an amazing moment for me and my family,” Byrom was quoted on Somerset County Cricket Club’s official website.

“It’s really great to be a part of Somerset. It’s a great club with an incredible history. To be able to have the opportunity to be a part of that really is a dream come true.”

Byrom came to the UK to study and play cricket at Kings College about which he said: “Obviously, it’s a great cricketing school and I wanted to pursue a cricket career here in England. It was a great place to be and that’s where it all started really. Kings has a very professional set up which was key to my development. They introduced me to Somerset and getting on to the academy last year was massive for me. To be able to work with people like Steve Snell and Paul Tweddle was great for me.”

Byrom has been pleased with his form so far this year. “It’s been great to get an opportunity with the seconds this summer,” he said.

“I’m just trying to make the most of it and it’s been good to score some runs. Hopefully, that can continue! There’s a really strong side here at Somerset, so it’ll just be a case of biding my time and scoring as many runs as I can for the second team.”

Somerset director of cricket, the former England international Matt Maynard was full of praises for Byrom, who he described as a player “with immense potential”.

“Eddie is a player with immense potential. His performances for the Second XI this season have been very impressive and I have heard nothing but good things about him from Steve Snell.

“His attitude and application are outstanding and I’ve been very impressed by his game management. He knows how to score runs and I think that Somerset supporters could well be hearing a lot about him in the years to come.”

Byrom, who holds an Irish passport, looks set to join the growing list of Zimbabwe-born players such as Gary Balance, Kyle Jarvis, Brendan Taylor, Hilton Cartwright, Sean Ervine and Colin de Grandhomme, just to mention a few, who have opted to try their luck elsewhere than play for their homeland.