Somerset's Will Smeed available for red-ball cricket once again after signing amended deal with club
Will Smeed hopes to play in County Championship for Somerset in 2025 after signing revised deal at Taunton club; batter was previously on a white-ball only contract; Smeed - the first player to score a hundred in The Hundred - is yet to play a red-ball game for the first team
Friday 7 March 2025 13:33, UK
Somerset batter Will Smeed has signed a revised deal that will see him available for County Championship cricket once again in 2025.
The 23-year-old, who initially stepped back from red-ball cricket in 2022, penned a white-ball-only contract extension last summer until the end of 2026, but this updated agreement will now see him eligible for the longer form, too.
Smeed is yet to make his first-class debut but played three Second XI County Championship matches at the end of last year, hitting two half-centuries in five innings.
- County Championship fixtures 2025 🏏
- County cricket ins and outs ⬆️⬇️
- Final 2024 County Championship tables 📋
- All today's cricket scorecards 🔢
- Get Sky Sports or stream with NOW 📱📺
He said: "I want to be a part of that team and contribute to some wins. I'm desperate to play more cricket than I did last summer.
"I picked up an injury and it felt like I hadn't really played any cricket. I played a few Second XI red-ball games and really enjoyed it. That's when I started to think that this would be a good option.
"Watching how the team went about things in the Championship last year was great and some of the wins were absolutely insane. It would be crazy to not want to be a part of that team."
Smeed, a key part of the Somerset team that won the 2023 Vitality Blast, has played 64 T20 matches for the Taunton club, scoring 1,669 runs with 12 half centuries and a best of 98 against Surrey in 2022.
In the same year, he became the first batter to score century in The Hundred, for Birmingham Phoenix against Southern Brave.
Smeed has featured in 105 T20 matches across his whole career, including stints in the SA20 and Pakistan Super League, and one 50-over fixture for England Lions against South Africa in July 2022.
Somerset director of cricket Andy Hurry said: "We all know Will has a huge amount of potential, and his return to multi-day cricket will certainly add depth to our County Championship batting options.
"When he initially signed a white-ball contract, he always made it clear that the door was not closed to the red-ball game."
