FANS' favourite Lewis Gregory has been named Somerset club captain for the 2024 season.

The Vitality Blast skipper will now also take on the mantle of the County Championship captaincy.

The Plymothian all-rounder, who played his club cricket for Plympton, progressed through the Devon Age Groups and represented the senior Devon side before joining Somerset from the Academy in 2010.

Since making his First XI debut for Somerset against Pakistan in September that year, he has gone on to establish himself as an integral element of the team across the formats, scoring over 6,000 runs and taking more than 550 wickets.

Gregory said: “I’m lucky enough to have been here for a while now and played under a number of great captains.

"To be able to lead the boys in the four-day format is a massive honour and it’s something that I’m very proud to be able to do.

“Captaincy makes you feel more responsible for what goes on in the game and I think that the added responsibility brings out the best in me.

"We’ve got a lot of leaders in the dressing room and out on the field and it’s exciting to think about what this group can achieve.

“I want the lads to enjoy what they’re doing and we’re going to continue to play aggressive cricket.

"That will bring the best out in everyone and hopefully we’ll see the positive results of that come the end of the season.”

The 31-year-old led Somerset to Vitality Blast glory in 2023 and takes over the leadership role of the red-ball side from Tom Abell.

“Abes has done a fantastic job over the last few years,” said Gregory.

"He will certainly still be one of our leaders and I have no doubt that I’ll be asking him for his advice.

"He’s a real team man and the things he’s done for this club are amazing.”

A former England Under 19 Captain, Lewis was called into the England ODI squad in 2015, and in 2019 he was named in the England Test squad for the match against Ireland.

Later that year, his consistently impressive performances for Somerset were rewarded with a place on England’s IT20 tour of New Zealand, and to date he has played in three ODIs and nine IT20s for his country.

Somerset director of cricket Andy Hurry said: "Lewis has thrived under the captaincy in T20 cricket.

"He is a natural leader and is held in the highest regard by his teammates and the staff at the club.

“He is highly regarded across the whole changing room, has extensive experience, has a natural ability to gain the followership of others and is the natural choice to take on the prestigious role.

“As well as being a high-quality performer with the bat, with the ball and in the field, Lewis has proven that he is an astute tactician.

"He has an exceptional cricket brain and has proved that he can influence games with both his performances and his captaincy.

“The club would also like to take this opportunity to announce that Craig Overton has been named as our vice captain.

"Like Lewis, Craig has a wealth of experience and is a genuine match winner.

"He has really developed his leadership attributes over recent years, has led the side on a number of occasions and plays a big part in shaping how we operate off the field.

“Lewis and Craig are talismans on the field, are outstanding ambassadors off it and we sense that they will form a dynamic partnership.

"Together, under their stewardship, we are best placed to build on the outstanding foundation that Tom Abell laid over the last seven years and will take the club forward towards even more success both on and off the field.”