Hard-hitting opening batsman Jack Whiting will be leading from the front when he captains Gloucester Cricket Club this season.

The 25-year-old replaces Tom Collinson, who stood down at the end of the last campaign, and he’s certainly relishing the challenge.

“I was always a captain growing up,” he said. “I was captain at school and I was captain at youth level so I’ve got plenty of experience.”

He’ll be able to call on the experience of Collinson, too, because he remains a big part of the club going forward and Whiting is certainly a big fan.

“Tom took on the captaincy with the club in a very vulnerable situation,” he said.

“In five years he has taken the club – not just the team – forward in leaps and bounds, and we now find the club in a much more promising position. He has dedicated so much time to the cause and everyone at the club is very grateful for all the hard work Tom has put in.”

They are clearly big shoes to fill and Whiting readily admits that it’s “a big job” facing him at Gloucester, but he will captain the side with the same go-forward approach that he adopts when he bats.

“I like to think I’ll be an attacking captain,” he said. “I want to get my foot on the opposition’s throat, if you’ve got them under the cosh keep the pressure on. I will be aggressive.”

And he will challenge his players too.

“I’ve got a few ideas,” he said. “We need to be a bit more disciplined in every aspect.

“Don’t give your wicket way when we’re batting and with the ball don’t bowl loose deliveries.

“Our behaviour on the pitch needs to improve too, we had a few issues last year.”

Whiting clearly wants to set the right example and as an opening batsman he certainly gets the chance to set the tone for the innings.

“I don’t like to leave a ball,” he said. “If it’s up there I go for it, I back myself to clear the field. I’m not afraid to give it a go from the first ball, I look to take advantage if it’s there to be hit because you don’t know when you are going to get another one.”

And Whiting always likes to face the first ball of an innings.

“It’s something I’ve always done, it means I can’t get run out without facing a ball,” he said with a laugh.

Whiting believes that batting is Gloucester’s strength and his runs will again be needed if they are to improve on last season’s third place in the Gloucestershire Division of the West of England Premier League.

He was the second highest runscorer in the division with an average in the early 40s and he said: “I think our batting is really solid, we’ve got a good top five or six.

“If we can all fire on the same cylinders we can score 250-plus each week, it all comes down to applying ourselves.”

As well as Whiting, the likes of Scott Montgomery, Dave Hemmings and Dan Brabham will be key batsmen and Whiting says he can’t wait for the league campaign to get started.

He’s very pleased that the club have recruited left-arm seamer Sam Winton from overseas saying: “I wanted someone to share the load with Tom Morris and Craig Collinson. Hopefully if we can get the runs on the board we can bowl sides out more regularly.”

Whiting will obviously have a key role helping Winton to settle in. Mind you, that shouldn’t be too difficult because Winton is an Australian and Whiting’s job as a technical salesman is to sell sandpaper so there should be no shortage of banter!

But while the aim of the game is obviously to enjoy it, Whiting is very serious about his cricket. He’s also a realist.

It wasn’t so long ago that Gloucester were in Premier One, a time when they were rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest and best teams in the area.

These days they are two divisions below that level and Whiting said: “I think there’s quite a lot of people with ambition at the club but it’s not an easy division to get out of.”

Only one team go up – Corse and Staunton won the title from Cirencester last season – and Whiting, a former Newent School pupil, said: “I think we’re strong enough to compete this season but this year the division will be the toughest it’s been for a long time.

“A lot of the teams have recruited well and Dumbleton, who have just been relegated, will be expected to go straight back up, but I don’t see any reason why we can’t compete.”

And while Whiting is taking on a new role this season he is not the only person because Dan Brabham has taken on the position of player/coach.

Former Gloucestershire and Kent batsman Simon Hinks was the club’s coach last season but his role on the ECB’s match referee panel meant he no longer had as much time to give to Gloucester.

“I thought he was brilliant, I was sad to see him go,” said Whiting. “He helped my game a lot.”

Nevertheless, Whiting is looking ahead with confidence and it’s not just the 1^st XI that excites him.

“We’ve got the All Stars and youth players from under-9s through to under-15s, so the next generation is coming through,” he said.

That youth set-up is something that is close to Whiting’s heart because, apart from a couple of years with Kingsholm, he has been with the club since the age of eight.

He’s Gloucester through and through and there’s absolutely no doubting him when he says: “I’m very committed to the cause.”