Tom Abell to continue as Somerset captain

14 December 2017 02:24

Tom Abell will continue to lead Somerset in next year's Specsavers County Championship and has added Royal London One-Day Cup captaincy duties to his workload.

Abell had a tumultuous first season as Somerset skipper in four-day cricket, with a nadir reached when 11 single figure scores in 14 innings led to him being left out of the fixture against Yorkshire at Scarborough in July.

He registered an impressive 96 on his return to the side against Surrey the following month as he helped Somerset avoid relegation from Division One.

Somerset Director of Cricket Andy Hurry said: "Tom is an outstanding young man. There was never any doubt in my mind that he would captain the side again in 2018.

"He is a real leader both on and off the field and he epitomises everything about the culture that we have created here.

"In a bid to retain a certain degree of consistency we also feel that both Tom and the club will benefit from him captaining in the Royal London One-Day Cup as well. Tom's captaincy this season was excellent and he is without a doubt the right man for the job."

Abell added: "To captain Somerset County Cricket Club is a tremendous honour and I feel extremely privileged to have been asked to lead the team again in 2018."

Somerset say they will announce a captain for the NatWest T20 Blast in the new year.

Source: PA