Will Smeed walks out to bat in a white-ball match for Somerset

Somerset batter Will Smeed has reversed his decision to pursue a career as a white-ball specialist and signed an all-format contract ahead of the 2025 domestic season.

The 23-year-old signed a contract extension last summer to play white-ball cricket only for Somerset until 2026. However, he has revised his contract with the club to be available for County Championship Cricket this year.

Smeed first came to public attention in 2020 as one of the most promising young batters in England. He hit 82 off 49 balls for Somerset in just his second professional match, and hit two 90-plus scores in that winter's Pakistan Super League for Quetta Gladiators. But it was in the 2022 season of The Hundred that he became one of the most talked about players in the country. He hit the first century in the competition's history in a 50-ball blitz at Edgbaston. He also made his England Lions debut that summer.

However, months after that innings in The Hundred, he divided opinion by committing his future exclusively to white-ball cricket at just 21 years old, and before making his first-class debut - although he scored a red-ball century in a Second XI match aged 16 playing alongside Marcus Trescothick. While other players had signed white-ball only contracts with their counties at that time, Smeed was the youngest player ever to do so.

Will Smeed reverses red-ball retirement after 28 months

His decision to reverse his red-ball 'retirement' also comes at an interesting time for white-ball only contracted players. Over the winter, the ECB announced a change to their NOC policy which would see players under red-ball contracts barred from playing in the PSL and MLC. The decision has led to several players opting for white-ball only deals to protect their franchise availability.

While Smeed has previously featured in the PSL, the last match he played in the tournament was in 2023. This winter saw him feature in only four franchise matches, all of which came in the SA20.

While Smeed has yet to make his First XI red-ball debut for Somerset, he played three Second XI County Championship matches at the end of last season, scoring 198 runs at an average of 49.50.

In an announcement from Somerset CCC on his contract revision, Smeed 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 last summer and it felt like I hadn’t really played any cricket. I played a few Second XI red ball games towards the end of last year 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.”

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