Charlie Garratt takes charge of Bourton Vale Cricket Club for the first time this season with a glowing reference from chairman Kevin Langley, whose son Rob just happened to be captain last season.

Rob has stood down because of work commitments and Garratt, who returned to the club last season after a number of years of away, was more than happy to take up the reins.

“He’s perfect for the job,” said Langley senior. “He’s got the right sort of character and the capabilities to be captain. He’s a leader.”

While Garratt will be expected to produce his share of runs – he is a “key batsman”, said Langley – it will also be hoped that he can lead a promotion push in the Gloucestershire Division of the West of England Premier League.

Up until four years ago the club played their league cricket in the Cherwell League which took them east to play teams in Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire.

The club are much happier since coming home, said Langley. “We’re very pleased that we transferred across,” he added. “Bourton Vale is beautiful but we do go to some very nice grounds – Dumbleton, Stroud, Chipping Sodbury – and the cricket is very competitive.

“We’ve consolidated in this division and held our own but now we’d like to push on and try to get into one of the two promotion positions.”

If the club are to challenge at the top of the table they will need opening bowler Ryan Newhook to continue his good form of recent seasons.

He will share the new ball with Ben Hughes and they will also be hoping that their overseas player from New Zealand, Joshua Smith, hits the ground running.

A youngster who could be pushing for first-team recognition this season is leg-spinner Max Shepherd. Only 13, he was leading wicket-taker for the 2nd XI last season when he caught the eye of the county age group selectors.

While the club faces a big challenge on the field as they look to mount a promotion charge, they also face a big challenge off it.

They have been given planning permission to redevelop their clubhouse and, providing the necessary finances are in place, that work will start almost as soon as the final ball of this season is bowled.

“The current clubhouse is falling down,” said Langley. “The new clubhouse will have the same footprint and design but the inside will be very different. We want to be part of the community and the plan is for the hockey club and the parish council to use it when the work is completed.”

If everything goes to plan the hope is that the new clubhouse would be ready by the start of the 2018 cricket season.

Langley’s commitment to Bourton Vale is obvious although he spent his playing career as a batsman at a club two miles up the road – Naunton.

He got involved with Bourton through his son Rob and although 63, he said he might play in a charity match during the club’s cricket week at the start of July.

“Mind you,” he joked, “it’s a lot easier to criticise when you’re not playing yourself.”

The cricket week is a very important part of the club’s calendar and something of which they are very proud.

“A lot of cricket clubs used to run cricket weeks,” Langley said. “They were a traditional part of the season but very few clubs have them anymore.

“Ours is very successful and we play the MCC every other year – we beat them last season which was very nice.

“We also play the Gloucestershire Gipsies and Warwickshire Imps, and this year we’ve got a team of Kenyans playing a T20 game.”

When asked if the players would be wearing coloured clothing or traditional whites, he said: “I expect we’ll jazz it up a bit, put some music on.”

So is the music playlist part of the chairman’s remit?

“No, no way,” he laughed, before adding, “Tom Arkell does a lot of our PR stuff, he’d be good at that.”