Hampshire make late captaincy switch to Vince

Hampshire have appointed James Vince as the club's one-day captain barely a week before the start of the new season. He will now skipper the side in both the Royal London One-Day Cup and NatWest T20 Blast competitions.

Vince's opportunity comes soon after an extraordinary call from Dominic Cork on Sky TV, following England's World Cup exit for England to consider employing Vince as their one-day captain in a long-term plan for the next World Cup.

That call came even though Vince has not played for England at senior level nor skippered Hampshire over 50 overs, but at least one of those shortcomings will now be remedied.

Vince impressed in the Championship in 2014, leading the run charts in Division Two of the LV= County Championship and also led Hampshire to their fifth consecutive T20 Finals Day. He will captain Hampshire for the first time in 50-over cricket when the Sussex Sharks are the visitors to the Ageas Bowl on July 27.

England Lions named him one-day captain in January for their tour of South Africa when he took over from Jonathan Trott, who led the Lions in a four-day series against South Africa A but was not included in the 50-over squad.

Vince said: "I had a taste of T20 captaincy last season and I really enjoyed leading the England Lions this winter so I'm pleased to get the opportunity to captain Hampshire in the Royal London One-Day Cup. Last year it probably took us a bit too long to get used to the new format, but we feel a lot more prepared this season and a Lord's final is what we are all aiming for."

Hampshire's director of cricket Giles White said: "James impressed with his captaincy in the NatWest T20 Blast and he will now take on the responsibility for all one day cricket in 2015. This appointment will also allow Jimmy Adams to focus on leading the side in Championship cricket and fulfilling the crucial role of club captain."

Vince captains with the words of Cork, his No 1 admirer, ringing in his ears. I'd like to see someone who isn't frightened of making different decisions, someone like Vince, who has captained Hampshire and England Lions," Cork said. "Why not throw it to him? He hasn't got any scars and there aren't really that many senior players any more."