Tom Hage will captain Hatherley and Reddings this season.

Hage, a top-order batsman who also bowls left-arm at a decent pace, takes over from Max Kelly, who stood down last month.

“Tom is the ideal candidate,” said club chairman Ian Coote. “He’s got such a good skill-set, he’s played a few games in Minor Counties cricket, he’ll be able to lead the team.

“He gets on very well with the players. He’s quite quietly spoken, I think he’ll take to it really easily.”

Like his predecessor as skipper, Hage came through the youth ranks at Hatherley.

“Tom and Max have always played together,” continued Coote, “Max will be an important member of the team this season, he remains 100 per cent committed to the club.

“It was Max’s decision to step down, he just felt he’d enjoy his cricket a lot more without the extra responsibility of being captain.”

Kelly, an off-spinner, led Hatherley to seventh place in the 10-strong Premier Two Glos/Wilts Division last season, the first time that they had managed to stay up at that level.

And he’s looking forward to the new campaign. “Tom’s a good lad,” he said.

Coote, meanwhile, is hoping that they can build on last season’s showing this time around.

“We’ve strengthened a bit,” he said. “I think the aim is to continue to build and consolidate our position in the league without getting in a relegation scrap and maybe push on in future years.”

Hatherley travel to Goatacre for their first league game of 2022 on Saturday.