SOMERSET batter Will Smeed has signed a one-year contract extension.

His new deal will see him play only white-ball cricket until at least the end of the 2024 season.

The 21-year-old outlines why he has made this decision.

“I feel that my game is better suited to white-ball cricket,” he explained. “After a huge amount of thorough and considered discussions, I feel that I need to solely focus my attention on the limited overs formats in order to become the very best cricketer I can be.

“I can assure people that this not a decision that I’ve taken lightly, and I’ve spoken to a lot of people about it. I want to be the best player that I can be, and to do that I believe that this needs to be my focus.

“I know how much our Members love red-ball cricket, but unfortunately I haven’t been performing how I would like to in the longer form of the game. The easy option would have been to carry on playing red-ball cricket and try to fit everything in and reach a certain level across all formats, but I want to try to be the best that I can be. To achieve this, I feel that I need to focus on excelling in one format.

“I’m certainly not saying that I’ll never play red-ball cricket again. I just feel that this is the right decision for me and Somerset at the current time.

“I’m extremely grateful to Somerset for supporting me in this decision and I always want to come home to Somerset."

Somerset Director of Cricket, Andy Hurry said: “Will has thought long and hard about this decision and he feels that this is the best option through which he can achieve his goal of reaching the very top of the game. As a Club we will continue to do everything we can to ensure that our players fulfil their aspirations, and we therefore support Will in this decision.

“White-ball only contracts are not new in the game and are not new at Somerset. The game is developing all the time and I sense that we will see more contracts of this type emerging across the world."