Byron Walter Byrne (born 15 February 1972) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

academic and former first-class

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er. Byrne was born at

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in February 1972, but was raised in rural

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. He was educated in Esperance at the

Esperance Senior High School Esperance Senior High School is a comprehensive education, comprehensive Public school (government funded), public secondary education#Australia, high Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding school, located in Esperance, Western Australia, ...

, before going up to the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

where he studied civil engineering and commerce. He studied for his engineering doctorate in England at

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

as a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

. While studying at Oxford, Byrne played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

for

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, making his debut against

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in 1997. He played first-class cricket for Oxford until 2000, making a total of 26 appearances. As a batsman, he scored a total of 984 runs in these matches, at an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

of 26.59 and with a high score of 94, which was one of three half centuries he made. With his right-arm

off break Off spin is a type of finger spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called an off spinner. Off spinners are right-handed spin bowlers who use their fingers to spin the ball. Their normal delivery is an off break, which spi ...

bowling, he took 19 wickets with best figures of 3 for 66. In addition to playing for Oxford University, Byrne also made a single first-class appearance for a combined Oxford Universities team against

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

in 2000. During his studies at Oxford, Byrne also lectured in engineering in addition to being a 'prize

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

' at

Magdalen College Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the st ...

. After completing his doctorate, he took up a departmental lecturership Magdalen College, before moving to St Catherine's College in 2005. Byrne was awarded the title of professor of engineering science by the university in 2014 and was awarded a

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior ...

Research Chair in 2018. He is a director of

Oxford Science Park The Oxford Science Park (OSP) is a science and technology park located on the southern edge of the city of Oxford, England. It was officially opened in 1991 and is owned by Magdalen College, Oxford. The park maintains strong links with the ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Byron 1972 births Living people Cricketers from Sydney University of Western Australia alumni Australian Rhodes Scholars Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Australian cricketers Oxford University cricketers Oxford Universities cricketers Australian expatriates in England Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford Australian academics Academics of the University of Oxford Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering