Alex Davies: Warwickshire wicketkeeper succeeds Will Rhodes as captain
- Published
Alex Davies has scored 1,086 first-class runs for Warwickshire in 25 matches, with two centuries and five half-centuries, since joining from Lancashire
Warwickshire have named wicketkeeper Alex Davies as the club's new captain.
The 29-year-old replaces Will Rhodes, who stepped down after four years at the helm in November.
Davies, who joined the Bears from Lancashire ahead of the 2022 season on a three-year contract, has also signed a new deal at Edgbaston until 2026.
"My first reactions are pride and honour. It's something I would never be able to turn down," Davies said.
"Will's been brilliant over the last four years and a massive reason why the club's where we are."
Davies was earmarked as a potential contender to succeed Rhodes by Bears first-team coach Mark Robinson when Rhodes gave up the captaincy to focus on his batting.
Vice-captain to Rhodes in red-ball and 50-overs cricket, Davies got a taste for leading the side in last season's T20 Blast campaign, following Moeen Ali's recall to the England Test side for the Ashes, and took the Bears to 10 wins from 10 games before losing in the quarter-finals at Edgbaston to Essex.
Larsen 'delighted' with new appointment
Although that was his first taste of senior captaincy, Davies says he believes he is in a good place to step-up permanently.
"It was nice for me to dip my toe in last year and everyone got a picture of how I would operate. And when Will stepped down, that door opened," he told BBC Radio WM.
"I was his vice-captain last year and we worked quite closely at times so he's going to be a massive help to me."
Davies, who called his move to Warwickshire the "best decision he ever made", says he will be "putting absolutely everything" into his new role.
"These two years have been great for me getting to know everyone, to have the time to create those relationships and the bit of it in the Blast last summer should hopefully stand me in good stead.
"I've always been a cricket 'badger' - I've watched the game intently and tried to pick up every little bit I can - every nugget of information."
Warwickshire's performance director Gavin Larsen said he was "delighted" Davies had agreed to take the job.
"Al was successful, popular with players, communicated superbly, and worked collaboratively with the coaches," the former New Zealand international seamer said.
"Al was always a strong candidate for captain given his vice-captain experience last year. He certainly displayed all the right attributes to take over should the opportunity arise."
Larsen confirmed the club would also assess the T20 captaincy position once the Indian Premier League and England commitments of all-rounder Moeen are "finalised".
Davies said he has told the Bears players "nothing's going to change" in terms of his character once he is captain and says he is "open to all suggestions" from Robinson and the coaching staff over any potential change to his role in the team - where he can operate as a top-order batter as well as behind the stumps, as he does in the T20 format.
"Taking the role in the T20, it quietens all the noise down because you don't have the time to think about your own game - you're thinking about 10 other blokes' games and what's going on and what the team needs," he said.
"I'd like to think I perform best under pressure and when I've got that responsibility so I'll be leading from the front."
Davies wants to 'create a bit of a legacy'
Warwickshire finished fourth in the County Championship table last summer, 37 points behind champions Surrey, and topped both their groups in the One-Day Cup and T20 Blast.
Davies, who is approaching 10,000 career runs in all formats, says he feels "really lucky" to have inherited the current Bears squad and is optimistic the club are on the edge of another period of sustained success, following their County Championship and Bob Willis Trophy triumphs in 2021.
"We were in the hunt for the championship for a lot of last season and we've definitely got our red-ball cricket back to where we want it," he said.
"In terms of white-ball, we dominated both competitions last year and I believe if we can get over the line in one of the knockout games, lift that trophy and get that feeling, I believe we can create a bit of a legacy here and be a force in white-ball cricket for some time to come."