Joe Carrasco appointed Shropshire captain

Leach had captained the side over the past three years, but is facing restricted availability, meaning Carrasco will step in to take over the captaincy.

In a a statement issued online, Shropshire County Cricket Club announced the decision.

"Joe Carrasco has been appointed Shropshire County Cricket Club’s new captain." read the statement.

"He replaces Steve Leach, who has skippered the side for the last three years, but now has restricted availability after securing a new job which he starts next week.

"Carrasco was named vice-captain to Leach for Shropshire’s Unicorns Championship side ahead of the 2019 season getting under way.

"The Oswestry batsman will lead the team for the first time when the county open their three-day Championship campaign against Dorset at Shrewsbury later this month."

Shropshire chairman Toby Shaw thanked Leach for his services and hailed 'mature' Carrasco following the move.

"We thank Steve for impressively leading the side over the last three years." he said.

“Work commitments mean he’s unavailable for the first two three-day games this season, and, having spoken to Steve, the decision has been taken with continuity in mind to elevate Joe from vice-captain to captain.

“We are pleased for Steve’s career progression that he has a new job and fully understand and appreciate he has commitments to his new position.

“We hope that Steve, who is a fine player, will continue to play for Shropshire when he is available.

“It has now created an exciting opportunity for Joe. He has shown tremendous maturity, will relish his new role, and we wish him every success.”

Carrasco admitted it was a proud moment to be confirmed as skipper for the side, and remains hopeful that Leach will be able to continue playing for Shropshire despite his increasing commitments.

"I’m very happy and proud to have been selected by the committee,” he confirmed. “I’ve played a lot of cricket now and there’s a lot of experience within the squad, so it’s almost a self-governing team." he said.

"It’s not ideal to have lost Steve for the next few games because he’s obviously a very good player who has scored a lot of runs for Shropshire and captained the side really well.

“We’re hopeful that he’s going to still be able to play, the more games the better really, and try to help us.”

Meanwhile, Leach admitted that the situation leading to the decision was a 'regrettable' one, but wished Carrasco well in his role.

He also went on to say that he is hopeful of featuring for Shropshire this season despite the situation surrounding his work commitments.

"We’re not professional sportsmen and I do have a full time job, so work has to dictate cricket rather than the other way round, which is regrettable." he said.

“I would have loved to have continued the captaincy and been available for all six Championship games, but I’m in full time work and sometimes life takes over.

“I’ve got a really close relationship with Bryan Jones, the chairman of selectors, and I would like to thank him for his efforts and help while I’ve been captain. There’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes. We’ve been transparent with each other throughout and he’s been understanding about the situation.

“I’ve been really passionate about the role. There’s unfortunately no silverware to show for the last three years and ultimately that’s probably what you get judged on, however I feel there’s certainly been a lot of progress.

"Joe’s going to bring a different approach, he’s been a very consistent performer over the last couple of seasons and he’s calm and composed.

“He will have a different style of leading people and I think he’s going to do a very good job. I wish Joe all the very best. He’s a brilliant player. His innings last Sunday was testament to just how composed he is. Joe inherits a really good group of players and quite a senior squad of seasoned performers for Shropshire and at club level.”

“I’ll certainly be unavailable for the first two matches and from there we’ll have to manage it match by match, to see if I’m available and how it fits in with Joe’s plans.

“I can’t unfortunately predict work commitments at this stage for my first few months in the new job. I’m hoping to be available after the first two games, but we’ll see how it goes.”