Simon Gustafsson insists he has no fears about being a big-hitter for Eastbourne Eagles next season.

The highly-rated 19-year-old has confirmed he will be back at Arlington in 2010.

He slots in at second place in the averages in the new-look all-overseas line-up, behind only Matej Zagar.

Gustafsson was originally brought to Eastbourne as a raw prospect for the tail end of the 2007 campaign and quickly caught the eye.

He struggled midway through his first full season in 2008 but was a sensation last term.

The Sweden under-21s captain opened 2009 with a series of double-figure hauls from reserve and eventually upped his average from 4.28 to 6.18.

Gustafsson, looking forward to a big season in which he will also chase world under-21 honours, said: “I’m really glad to be back at Eastbourne.

“It’s a really good club. They look after you and pay you the money they say they will on time.

“I had a really good time last season, moving up from reserve, but being second in the averages doesn’t make much difference.

“It’s what I want to be doing. I want tough meetings. I know I can go out and score 12 or 13 from reserve but I want to be getting seven or eight up the order and really raise my own level.

“We will be a good team. We’ll miss having Lewis Bridger around because he’s a fun guy and it’s never quiet in the locker room when he is there.

“But we have some good riders and some good guys in the new team. It will be fun.”

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