Jake Ball Signs One-Year Extension to Stay at Somerset
Somerset pace bowler Jake Ball has signed a one-year contract extension, keeping him at the Cooper Associates County Ground until at least the end of the 2026 season. BBC Sport
The 35-year-old joined Somerset from Nottinghamshire in 2024 on an initial two-year deal, bringing to a close a 15-year stay at Trent Bridge. Since arriving in Taunton, Ball has made 59 appearances and taken 97 wickets across all three formats of the county game — first-class, one-day and T20.
His impact was felt quickly. Ball was part of the Somerset side that won the T20 Blast in 2025, the county's showpiece short-format title, taking 2 for 39 in the six-wicket final victory over Hampshire at Edgbaston. For a bowler operating in the powerplay — the fielding-restricted opening overs where batsmen attack most freely — those figures in a final amounted to a hard, disciplined shift.
Ball's career stretches well beyond the county circuit. Between 2016 and 2018, he earned 24 England caps across all formats: four Tests, 18 one-day internationals and two T20 internationals. That international pedigree, combined with his county experience, gave Somerset a proven new-ball option when they signed him.
Somerset's director of cricket, Andy Hurry, has overseen a squad that has collected silverware across formats in recent seasons. Ball's retention gives Hurry continuity in a seam attack that will again be asked to perform on the quick, bouncy surface Taunton now demands.
The extension also follows a brief loan spell. Ball and Somerset teammate Alfie Ogborne joined Kent on loan in September 2025, a short-term arrangement that allowed both players game time without severing their ties to Somerset.
For Somerset supporters, the news means one of their 2025 title-winners stays put. For Ball, it is a chance to build on a Taunton record that already reads impressively — nearly a hundred wickets in two seasons, a winner's medal, and the trust of a county that has made him central to their plans.
