Gloucestershire sign Ben Wells until 2023

The 20-year-old wicketkeeper-batter arrives at the club from the Somerset academy and has featured regularly for the second XI of both Somerset and Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire have signed wicketkeeper-batter Ben Wells until the end of the 2023 season.

The 20-year-old arrives at the club from the Somerset academy and recently featured for Gloucestershire in a friendly against Wiltshire, making 24 not out off 15 balls and recording one dismissal.

Wells, who previously captained the first XI at the University of Exeter, has featured regularly for the second XIs of both Somerset and Gloucestershire, including scoring 111 not out from just 61 balls for the former in a T20 against Northants.

Commenting on his new signing, Gloucestershire’s interim head coach, Ian Harvey, said: "Ben has shown tremendous talent and given us a glimpse into his potential. We saw him lead Exeter University MCC in preseason and he has played well for our second XI this summer.

"It is a huge boost for the club having Ben commit his future to Gloucestershire. We look forward to helping Ben improve and develop his game further in the next two years."

Wells added: "I’m really happy to be here and very excited to get going with Gloucestershire. Everything has been great so far and I enjoyed meeting the team and the coaches who were friendly and welcoming.

"My goal at the club is to break into the first team and then to try and dominate at the county level and see where that can take me."

Commenting on the opportunity to learn from incumbent gloveman and England international, James Bracey, he continued: "I’m looking forward to learning a lot from James. He’s a great player and I’m excited to see how he goes about his preparation and how he approaches games."

With five Gloucestershire players taking part in The Hundred, Wells could make his debut in the Royal London One-Day Cup.