ANDY Umeed is hoping Somerset’s disappointing Metro Bank One Day Cup campaign will prove a major breakthrough in his own ambition to play red and white ball cricket for the county.

The competition has seen the 27-year-old Glasgow-born opener blossom after a frustrating start to his time at Taunton.

Only Warwickshire’s Ed Barnard has scored more runs than Umeed’s 441 in the group games, which include two centuries, the latest coming against Glamorgan at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton, on Sunday.

Last season he made just one LV= Insurance County Championship appearance for Somerset, scoring four and three in the final match against Kent at Canterbury, while five List A games saw him average just over 20.

This summer Umeed’s only first team appearance prior to the Metro Bank One Day Cup saw him dismissed for 16 in a Championship clash with Hampshire at Taunton. Now he is hoping to be given a chance to take his 50-over form, which sees him averaging 63, into the last three four-day fixtures.

Umeed said: “I am just trying to make as many runs as I can and let selection take care of itself. Hopefully, I am in the thoughts of the coaches and staff.

“I knew I was going to get a run in the One Day Cup, so I was excited before it started. Up until then, I had been given a couple of opportunities and hadn’t got as many runs as I would have liked.

“When you come into a professional sport everyone’s skill level is right up there and you just have to try and do as well as you can.

“It was always going to be tough when you think that the club have just won the Vitality Blast and are very competitive in Division One of the Championship, with a lot of international players.

“My ambition when I signed was to play as much cricket as possible across the formats. I’ve worked hard on developing my white ball game.

“Confidence-wise, the One Day Cup has been great for me. It has given me the chance to showcase my skills.

“Whatever other challenges are thrown my way, I now feel better placed to embrace them.”

Umeed was with Warwickshire as a youngster and scored a hundred on his Championship debut against Durham.

But he was released in 2018 and had a spell playing club cricket before joining Somerset and becoming the first graduate of the South Asian Cricket Academy to sign more than a one-year contract with a county.

If Umeed is selected for Somerset’s final three Championship games, they may also choose to employ his skills as an occasional spinner. His first ever bowl in List A cricket, against Glamorgan on Sunday, saw him claim three wickets.