Tom Smith signs three-year contract extension with Gloucestershire
Dec 11, 2020
Bristol [UK], December 11 : Tom Smith has signed a three-year contract extension with Gloucestershire after being named as 2020 Supporters' Player of the Season.
Smith, who enjoyed a fantastic year in the Vitality Blast, will be working towards a level four coaching badge over the next two years with an official coaching role at the club commencing in the third year of his contract.
"I'm delighted to commit my future to the club. It's somewhere that not only me but my girls really cherish. We have loved our time here and it's great that I am able to extend that," Smith said in a statement.
Smith was a key player in this season's Vitality Blast, finishing with 14 wickets and a career-best performance of 5/16 against Birmingham bears at Edgbaston. He also hit the winning runs against Somerset in a nail-biting South West derby.
He had the best economy rate (5.92) of all players who featured more than once in this year's Vitality Blast, an incredible statistic showcasing his ability to affect the game in more ways than one. The spin bowling combination of Smith and van Buuren in the middle overs was a huge factor of the team's success on the way to a first Finals Day appearance since 2007.
"It's so exciting to be a part of this team, we've only scratched the surface of what we can do. To get through to Finals Day after three failed attempts was huge for us but I think it was just a stepping-stone to more," Smith said.
"We all want to improve and get better and we can add two overseas players to a team that already reached the final four. We've definitely still got room to grow and hopefully next year we'll bring some silverware home," he added.
Head coach Richard Dawson believes Tom earned his contract extension.
"Tom has been a consistent performer in white-ball cricket over a number of years now and he had an exceptional T20 tournament this year. We played well as a team and he was a huge part of the squad, so he fully deserved a contract extension," he said.
"The next few years will be transitional for Tom but he has shown a keen interest in developing his coaching. He is still performing at a high level on the field so we hope first and foremost that this continues but we will support him on his coaching journey in any way we can," Dawson added.
