With speculation mounting as to his future, Somerset captain Jordan DeSilva has set the record straight on where he will be playing for the forthcoming season.

DeSilva has moved swiftly to quash rumours linking him to a move to St David’s County Cricket Club after he expressed his desire to play in the popular Eastern Counties competition.

“I am not going anywhere,” DeSilva confirmed. “I haven’t hid my desire to play Eastern Counties, but it won’t be this year.

“Last Cup Match there was already stuff going around that it was going to be my last one, and that came out of nowhere and was not from me.

“People were asking me if I was going to stay at Somerset and I did tell them that I have a desire to play Eastern Counties and that I have talked to people from St David’s. But it wasn’t to the point where all I had to do was sign a piece of paper.

“it never went that far and I never really spoke to anyone from St David’s since the season ended, so it wasn’t something that was ongoing.”

Somerset have already pulled off a major coup in the lead-up to the new season after securing the services of Cup Match legend and former Southampton Rangers player-coach Janeiro Tucker.

The 48-year-old has been appointed as an assistant to head coach Jeff Richardson and DeSilva is excited to have someone of Tucker’s calibre and experience on board.

“With Janeiro coming up now we have two main coaches and it’s the first time since I have been here that Somerset has someone of his calibre from this generation as obviously Jeff is a little bit older,” he said.

“Janeiro will bring a winning mentality, even in the First Division. We can use that to get back up and then take it up another level.”

Somerset were relegated last season as a chronic player shortage took its toll.

“Our issues have always been not so much about the quality of players but numbers,” DeSilva said. “We played so many games short last season, which is why we find ourselves in the First Division this year.

“We always feel we have four of five top players in our team no matter what the rest of the make-up of the team is, so that’s why whenever we drop down, the expectation is to get right back up and that is the same this year.

“Our goal is to win the First Division and go undefeated, so it’s just about beating who is in front of us.”

Somerset have also acquired the services of former Rangers’s seamer Nirobi Smith-Mills and should have more depth in their squad for the start of the season with some of their overseas players already back on island.

“We should not be as hamstrung as we usually are at the start of the season because Dominic Sabir, Alje Richardson and Jermel Proctor are here,” DeSilva added. “These are usually guys that at the start of the season we are going to be without so it’s good to have them at the start.

“Obviously Nirobi is coming, but he is away right now so it’s just Nirobi and Amari Ebbin who are away really.”

Michael Corday, Somerset’s cricket chairman, is equally thrilled to have most of the players studying overseas back for the upcoming season.

“I am excited because we have players back from school abroad,” he said. “Young Jermel Proctor is keen and training and Alje Richardson is also keen.

“These guys we have back now and I am also hearing that Amari Ebbin might be coming back towards the summer so that will be a great lift for us as well.

“The guys are really motivated now. I can see there’s a new motivation and this has been a shot in the arm for us.

“It’s been long overdue but now we have guys back from school and we are solid in our numbers. I think the quality has improved quite a bit and I am looking forward to it and I know Jeff is as well. Everybody is excited.”