Jim Troughton's vow as new captain

New Warwickshire captain Jim Troughton insits he can combine leadership with runs after fulfilling a lifelong ambition to skipper the Bears.

The 31-year-old has been named as successor to Ian Westwood, who stood down to focus on batting after his spell at the helm brought an alarming slump in form.

But Troughton, who has been at Edgbaston since he was a schoolboy, is confident he can avoid a similar problem.

He said: "When you take on this role it can affect your own game because you just don't have the time to take care of the technical side of your own cricket.

"But captaining and opening the batting, like Ian has had to do, is a tough ask.

"He has done a great job in the time he has been in charge, because we won a trophy on the last day of the season for the last three years so he can take a lot of pride from what he has achieved.

"Now, if he wants to focus on his own game, that can only be good for Warwickshire. I bat a little further down the order, where the pressure probably won't be as big on my shoulders.

"I feel I am ready to give it a go and hopefully I can offer the team and the club something. I feel I am of the age and have the experience where people in the dressing room can look to me for advice.

"I get along with most people at the club and I like to lead by example with the things I do on and off the pitch.

"I have got a good few ideas of things I want to bring to the role and to our game in four-day and one-day cricket."

Warwickshire's players return to training yesterday, beginning with intensive physical work in Cannon Hill Park before they step up their technical preparations for next summer after Christmas.

With extensive redevelopment work at Edgbaston's Pavilion End gathering pace, Troughton is relishing his time at the helm.

He said: "I had a taste of captaincy last season during the T20s and then Ian Westwood stepped down from the post.

"I hoped I might get a text or a phonecall and that call came from Ashley Giles, the director of cricket.

"We met up and had a chat about where we went from here and he asked me if I would like to take over.

"It is something I have always wanted to do, especially here, because Warwickshire is in my blood.

"I am looking forward to the next couple of months, moving towards the season.

"Being captain is exciting but also seeing the new stand go up so quickly is exciting too.

"Hopefully it will all be ready on schedule and we can get into the new dressing rooms, because these are exciting times."