James Taylor has been appointed captain of Notts Outlaws after signing a two-year contract extension at Trent Bridge.
Taylor, who is now committed to the Club until the end of the 2016 season, will also serve as vice-captain to Chris Read in the LV= County Championship in a move that Nottinghamshire Director of Cricket Mick Newell hopes will ease the succession.
Read has enjoyed success on two fronts during his tenure as Club Captain, winning the LV= County Championship in 2010 and the Yorkshire Bank 40 last season but elected recently to stand aside in limited-overs formats.
Newell believes that the new dressing room leadership partnership will bring fresh impetus to the Club’s trophy hunt.
“It’s important to have a succession plan in place and I was keen to get James involved in the captaincy in some form,” said Newell.
“Chris had stepped aside to allow David Hussey and Adam Voges to captain our twenty20 side in recent seasons and benefitted from having that break and this is a natural extension of that with James very suited to the role.
“Both players are pleased with the arrangement and I’m hopeful that it will help us to continue to improve.”
Taylor, who is currently in training in Perth, captained Nottinghamshire to victory over Surrey in the LV= County Championship during Read’s injury absence last season. He has also captained England Lions on tour and considers himself a leader by example.
"I’ll definitely be trying to get the best out of everyone in any way that I can by giving them confidence to play.” - James Taylor
“I’m looking forward to captaining Notts Outlaws because I’ve had positive experiences leading the Lions against good opposition on tough tours,” said Taylor.
“There are challenges that come with it but I’ll enjoy the extra responsibility. I’m going to relish every minute of it but most importantly I need to lead from the front with the bat.
“I’m a relatively young and inexperienced captain so I haven’t defined my style yet. I’ll definitely be trying to get the best out of everyone in any way that I can by giving them confidence to play.”
Newell expects Taylor to continue to push for international honours and acknowledges that he may have to re-consider the approach if England come calling.
“It’s almost impossible to combine an international career with Club captaincy and we will re-evaluate things if James becomes a Test regular,” said Newell.
“He is entering a crucial period for his international aspirations over the next three seasons and I still believe that he could play a lot of cricket for England if opportunities arise for him.
“I consider him to be an established Division One batsman now and having had a couple of years in our dressing room, it feels like the ideal time to give him additional responsibility.”