Emma Corney has become the latest player to be announced by Somerset County Cricket Club.

The 21-year-old top-order batter has signed an initial two-year deal.

Emma was selected for the Western Storm Regional Development Centre in 2018 and went on to make her First XI debut against South East Stars at Beckenham in the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy in 2020.

She was part of the Western Storm Academy in 2021 and signed her first professional contract ahead of the 2023 season. During that year she was Storm’s second highest run scorer in the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy, making 296 runs.

A product of the Devon Pathway, Emma featured in 29 List A matches for Storm, scoring 555 runs at an average of 24.13, with a best of 69. She also represented the team in nine T20 fixtures, scoring 172 runs at an average of 21.50 with a best of 46.

After signing for Somerset, Emma said: “I’m really excited to be continuing my cricketing journey with Somerset and I’m really proud that I’ll still be representing the West Country with the team that I grew up watching.

“There’s now a clear path for young girls from Devon and from across the region to follow into the professional game, and I’m really proud to be one of the players selected to make that step. Hopefully, we can inspire young people from across the South West and engage with lots of people.

“We have a responsibility to keep growing the game and to put it on a platform that people can aspire to and be a part of. It’s exciting and I can’t wait to get going.”

Somerset Women Head Coach, Trevor Griffin is pleased to have secured her services. “Emma has recently really started to show her potential and we are excited to see her develop into a quality top order batter,” he said. “I’m delighted to have secured her as part of our squad for the next two years because she has the ability to score big runs and put teams under real pressure.”

Somerset Director of Cricket, Andy Hurry added: “Emma is a batter who we believe has the potential to make a real impact at the top of the order, and we very much look forward to seeing her career progress in a Somerset shirt over the next two years and hopefully beyond.”