David Leatherdale, the former Worcestershire allrounder, will takeover as the county's chief executive after Mark Newton announced he was stepping down from the position.

Newton had been at the helm for 10 years but will be replaced by Leatherdale who had been serving as his deputy. Leatherdale will begin his tenure in October with a new club captain in place after Vikram Solanki resigned on the same day as Newton, but Leatherdale is confident the young Worcestershire side can improve after struggling this year.

"We are a club with 145 years of history and a huge number of loyal and passionate supporters, myself included, and a young developing team who have all the attributes to move the club into a new era," he said. "I look forward to combining my knowledge of cricket as well as my commercial experience to help progress the club both on and off the field.

"I have gained a great insight into the internal structures of the club over the last five years and particularly the last two as deputy CEO during what, it is fair to say, have been particularly difficult times. The cricketing landscape has changed immensely, both structurally and economically which has created many challenges and I am sure there will be many more to face in the future."

Leatherdale played his entire career with Worcestershire making over 10,000 first-class runs and taking 132 wickets before retiring in 2005 to become the county's commercial director.