Will Smeed

Will Smeed is a Somerset right-handed batter who has come through the county’s pathway from a young age, making his Somerset Under-10s debut in 2010 before joining the Academy in 2016. He made his Second XI debut against Middlesex as a 15-year-old in 2017 and progressed to the Somerset first team in the Vitality Blast in 2020, earning his first professional contract ahead of the following season.

Smeed quickly established himself as one of the most explosive young white-ball batters in world cricket. In 2022, he earned an England Lions call-up for 50-over matches against South Africa and made global headlines when he scored the first-ever century in The Hundred, a breathtaking, unbeaten 101 off 50 balls for Birmingham Phoenix against Southern Brave. His boundary-clearing ability also made him a high-demand commodity across global T20 leagues, leading to stints in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Caribbean Premier League (CPL), SA20 and Abu Dhabi T10.

In November 2022, at just 21, Smeed opted to forgo red-ball cricket to become one of English cricket's first specialist white-ball players. In that role, he was integral to Somerset winning the 2023 Vitality Blast, scoring 523 runs in 17 games. However, in March 2025, Smeed made the pivotal decision to reverse his white-ball sabbatical, signing a multi-format contract to reintegrate red-ball cricket into his career while reaffirming his ambitions to play all formats for county and country.

His white-ball supremacy reached new heights during Somerset's 2025 Vitality Blast triumph, where he produced a match-winning 94 from 58 balls in the final against Essex to earn Player of the Match honors. He ended with 620 runs in 17 games and carried that momentum into 2026, anchoring Somerset's top order with nearly 400 runs at a blistering strike rate over 166. Contracted with Somerset through the end of the 2027 season, Smeed continues to develop as a formidable multi-format talent with game-changing power.

His white-ball supremacy reached new heights during Somerset's 2025 Vitality Blast triumph, where he produced a match-winning 94 from 58 balls in the final against Essex to earn Player of the Match honors. He carried that momentum into 2026, anchoring Somerset's top order with nearly 400 runs at a blistering strike rate over 166. Contracted with Somerset through the end of the 2027 season, Smeed continues to develop as a formidable multi-format talent with game-changing power.