Ansari and Jewell sign Surrey deals

Surrey academy players Zafar Ansari and Tom Jewell have signed professional contracts with the club.

Allrounder Jewell, 19, has been handed a two-year deal while left-handed-batsman Ansari, who only recently turned 19, has a two-year summer contract to play for the club while he continues his degree at Cambridge University.

Both players have been involved in age-group cricket at Surrey and are the latest products of the academy to achieve professional status after Matthew Dunn, Jason Roy, Tom Lancefield and Rory Burns all signed deals earlier this winter.

As well as representing Surrey, Jewell is a regular for Guildford CC in the Surrey Championship Premier Division and made his debut for the county at Under-15 level. He made his first-class debut against Loughborough UCCE in April 2008 and has played five times for the Surrey First XI in different forms of the game.

Ansari made his Surrey debut at a young age, impressing at all levels of age-group cricket and captained England Under-15s. He made his List A debut in Surrey's final CB40 match last season, against Sussex, dismissing Joe Gatting with his first ball.

Ansari, who is also an accomplished musician, was delighted at the chance of furthering his career and thinks the deal works perfectly with his university life. "I've been with Surrey since I was nine, so get a contract with the club you've played at all your life is fantastic," he said. "The summer contract is brilliant because it gives me the opportunity to work during term time but combine with playing up there and then for Surrey when I get back down here."

Tom Jewell added: "I'm absolutely delighted, finally all the hard work I've done at the academy has paid off. I've had a taste of first team action and it's let me know where I need to be to be able to get in the four day side and stay there."