Gloucestershire County Cricket Club have won the battle to sign 16-year-old prodigy Cameron Herring after Glamorgan offered the wicketkeeper-batsman a last-minute deal.

The Tredegar-born prospect is having a trial spell with Gloucester having caught the eye of academy director Owen Dawkins since transferring to Newport CC this winter.

Herring faced his home county for the Gladiators in a triangular Twenty20 tournament, chipping in with an accomplished 29 against the Dragons before penning a deal to keep him at the County Ground for two years.

“Gloucester have treated me really well and never rushed me into a decision,” he said.

“I weighed up all my options and chose to show loyalty to Gloucestershire, but it wasn’t the worst position to be in with two counties offering contracts.”

Gloucestershire have allowed the Tredegar Comprehensive pupil to finish his studies before linking up with them for the rest of the season after graduating from the Wales age group squads.

Attention was drawn to the opening batsman by his impressive form in the Swalec South Wales Premier League where he averages nearly 70, but Glamorgan failed to recognise his potential until it was too late.

“It was a difficult choice to make as I am still in school and travelling to Gloucester isn’t easy, whereas Glamorgan is obviously a lot closer,” he said.

“But Glamorgan only offered me something after they knew Gloucester were interested and if they wanted me they could have got me a lot sooner when I was playing age grade.”

Herring admits an influential factor in his choice was the promise of a winter programme coached by former England star Jack Russell. “They see me potentially as a future keeper and are prepared to put me on an out of season programme with Russell to develop me further, which would be very helpful and something I need to achieve my ambition of being a professional cricketer,” he said.

Newport coach Mike Knight identified Herring as a first-class player from a young age and played a significant role in bringing him to Spytty Park.

“Cameron is an excellent player and has shown his worth since moving to us. I believe he has made the right decision to sign for Gloucestershire,” he said. “Hopefully they will also improve him as a player and allow him to grow while still scoring runs for us, but it will be only a matter of time before he consolidates his place there.”