Joey Evison signs professional deal with Nottinghamshire

The three-year deal comes on the back of his first-team bow, which saw him become the club’s youngest debutant since Bilal Shafayat made his first appearance for the club in 2001

Teenager Joey Evison has signed a professional contract with Nottinghamshire.

The 17-year-old made his first-class debut for the county last week in the eight-wicket defeat against Warwickshire, with Evison impressing on the way to a first-innings 45.

The three-year deal comes on the back of his first-team bow, which saw him become the club’s youngest debutant since Bilal Shafayat made his first appearance for the club in 2001.

Evison is also the first player born in the 21st century to play for the county, having already represented England at Under-19 level this summer.

“It’s a dream come true to get my first professional deal,” Evison said.

“It’s something I’ve been working towards since a very young age. My first-class debut was special, everyone in the dressing room welcomed me and it was a massive milestone in my career.

“Now I’ve got my first deal, it’s another goal ticked off and the hard work starts again on the journey forward.”

Evison is a product of Lincolnshire’s age-group cricket – the latest to rise from the minor county to Peter Moores’ outfit, having witnessed off-spinner Matt Carter also progress along a similar path.

“Joey’s certainly a real talent – that’s been there for everyone to see for a while,” said head coach Moores.

“It’s exciting for him and for the club because he seems to have that ability to step up to new levels of cricket and adapt.

“That’s a difficult skill for anybody, particularly when stepping into the first-class game as Joey did last week.

“Not just because of the runs he put on the board – but also the way he went about it, batting in the top six – was hugely impressive.

“He’s been playing good cricket across different levels for a while and now is his opportunity to do that at the professional standard and try to move his game forward.

“We’ve demonstrated for a number of years now that, if players show the potential to be good enough, there will be opportunities for them to play.

“Jack Blatherwick, Liam Patterson-White and now Joey are all recent additions to the professional ranks on the back of that, and there will be more to follow.”