Lees to become Durham captain across all formats

Alex Lees has scored 16 first-class centuries for Durham

Alex Lees is to become the Durham captain across all formats for the 2025 county season after signing a new three-year deal with the club.

Lees replaces Scott Borthwick as skipper for the County Championship after he moved into a player-coach role.

The 31-year-old opening batter was already captain of Durham's T20 Blast and One-Day teams.

"The move to the north east has been a good one for me, so to now be given the opportunity to captain Durham is a privilege and an honour," he told the club's website.

After coming through at his native Yorkshire where he won the Championship in 2014 and 2015, Lees moved north during the 2018 season.

His form for Durham was good enough to earn him a Test call-up and he made his debut for England in March 2022.

He played 10 Tests across that year, with a best of 67, before he returned to the county ranks.

However, he has flourished since then. In 2023, he scored more 1,300 runs and hit five centuries as Durham won the Second Division to secure promotion with Lees named as the County Championship Player of the Season.

While he hit 921 runs and another four hundreds last summer as the county re-established themselves in the top tier.

Now, as well as continuing to open the batting and rack up runs, Lees is tasked with improving on the fifth-place finish achieved last season.

"This opportunity to captain Durham gives me a chance to put some real focus into the red-ball team, building on the foundations that we have built over the last few years," he said.

"Scott did a fantastic job over the last four seasons and I think getting promoted back to Division One is huge credit to him.

"Now is about building on the good stuff we have done over the last few years and taking it forward giving us that extra 10% to go on and challenge for trophies."

Alex Lees played the last of his 10 England Tests against South Africa in September 2022

For Durham's director of cricket Marcus North, Lees was the obvious candidate to step up and replace Borthwick as red-ball captain.

"Alex's dedication, passion and ambitions for the club has been evident since his arrival in 2018. He is a popular and respected figure in the squad who leads with tenacity," he said.

"Alex has established a strong connection with (coach) Ryan Campbell during his time as white-ball captain making him the perfect person to lead Durham in the County Championship."