Joe Leach appointed new Worcestershire captain

Joe Leach, the Worcestershire all-rounder, has been named as the club's new captain. He will take over the leadership duties from Daryl Mitchell who was at the helm for six years. Leach has been Worcestershire's vice-captain for the last 12 months and finished the season as Division Two's leading wicket-taker with 65 wickets apart from scoring 583 runs with the bat.

"It is a great honour to be made captain and a great opportunity to take on a young improving squad," Leach said following the appointment on Wednesday (September 28). "Hopefully we will go from strength to strength as a squad over the next few years. I would like to pay tribute to Daryl who has done a fantastic job, got us two promotions and to quarter-finals, and I look forward to working with him as a senior player."

Steve Rhodes, Worcestershire's Director of Cricket, said that the change was made since the team 'needed a fresh start'. "I have enjoyed working with Mitch for six years in the captain-coach relationship," he said. "I hope Daryl can continue to play a key role as one of our most accomplished and experienced batsmen.

"I am looking forward to enjoying a good working relationship with Joe. He has had an exceptional season. He was already vice-captain and has got key attributes which will help with captaining the side."

Mitchell then took to Twitter to post an open letter to the fans and media expressing his shock and disappointment after getting the axe. "This is certainly the most difficult thing I've had to deal with in my professional career," he said. "As you can probably imagine it came as quite a shock, I am bitterly disappointed and left deeply hurt by the decision. I informed the players and staff last night and their messages of support have been overwhelming. Knowing that my teammates share the shock is of great comfort to me.

"2016 has been a difficult year for me with a lot on my plate off the field, poor form with the bat in the early part of the season and if I'm honest I haven't been at my best as captain in certain parts of the year. However, I did feel things had turned the corner, I finished the season well, and after a freshen up over the winter I was looking forward to leading the team in competing for trophies in 2017. Unfortunately, this was not to be."

The 32-year-old also revealed that he was given an opportunity by the club to step down from captaincy, which he refused to do. "I was given the opportunity to resign but I felt it important that everybody knew the truth and the one thing I most certainly am not is a quitter," he said.

"Although I disagree with the decision, I do fully respect it and know it been made with the very best intentions for Worcestershire CCC moving forward. I've been in professional sport long enough to know, sometimes you just have to take things on the chin and move on. I would like to thank Steve Rhodes for giving me the opportunity to fulfil a childhood dream of becoming captain of Worcestershire CCC. I guess like all dreams you have to wake up at some point."