Warwickshire: Will Rhodes steps down as skipper after four years

Warwickshire captain Will Rhodes has stepped down as Bears skipper after four seasons in the role.

The 28-year-old Yorkshireman wants to concentrate on his game after seeing his haul of County Championship runs drop for a second season running.

Rhodes has been at Edgbaston for six years, since arriving from his native Yorkshire in 2018.

He look over the captaincy for the Covid-hit 2020 season, following the retirement of Jeetan Patel.

"Coming to the club as a 22-year-old I never thought I'd get such an opportunity to captain a great club like Warwickshire," said Rhodes. "It's been an unbelievable honour.

"I was hugely grateful for the opportunity when Jim Troughton and Paul Farbrace asked me to do it. And with the support of Mark Robinson [first-team coach] and Gavin Larsen [performance director], I'd like to think I've made a positive contribution.

"I'm looking forward to next season, helping whoever will be the new captain, and hopefully giving them a bit of advice from the experience I've gained over the years. And most importantly, collectively pulling together to win as many games as possible."

Rhodes, one of only seven Warwickshire captains to lift the County Championship, has so far made 5,982 runs for the Bears in 148 games across all formats, as well as taking 107 wickets with his brisk medium pacers.

He still has a season left on the two-year Bears contract he signed in January.

The Bears finished fourth in the Championship in 2023 and top of their group in both the T20 Blast and One-Day Cup, but then got eliminated at the knockout stage in both.

Robinson added: "Rhodesy obviously isn't retiring and will hopefully transition seamlessly into the ranks and continue helping us in our quest for success. But for now we thank him for all he has achieved with us as a leader.

"He'll always be remembered as one of few players who've captained a side at Edgbaston to the County Championship."