Hoggard gives up one-day captaincy

Matthew Hoggard has stepped aside as Leicestershire captain in limited-overs cricket. Josh Cobb, aged just 21, has succeed him. Cobb captained the county in tourist games against West Indies and Australia and has taken over on a permanent basis for the CB40 game against Netherlands.

Hoggard will continue to play limited-overs cricket but, aged 35, felt the time was right for Leicestershire to look to the future. He will continue to captain the County Championship side. Leicestershire have already been eliminated from the Friends Life t20 and are bottom of their CB40 group having failed to win any of their first five games.

"Having seen how well Josh captained the side against Australia and the West Indies, Matthew Hoggard expressed a desire to hand over the one-day captaincy to him," Mike Siddall the Leicestershire chief executive said. "With the group stages of the Friends Life t20 competition now finished, Matthew feels that the time is right for that change and he will continue to lead the team in the LV=County Championship."

Leicestershire have also announced that 32-year-old Ramnaresh Sarwan, who remains surplus to requirements by West Indies, has signed a new two-year contract which will keep him at the club until at least the end of the 2014 season. Sarwan has scored 608 championship runs at an average of 43.42 and is also seen as a good influence on the young batsman at the club, such as Cobb and Greg Smith.

"Ronnie has created a tremendous impression since he joined us," Siddall said. "We are delighted to have secured his services for another two seasons. He is a fantastic player and his influence on our younger players has been excellent."