PAUL Smith has been appointed as Werrington Cricket Club’s new first team captain at the club’s annual general meeting on Monday, November 6.

The 24-year-old batsman, who has been vice-captain for the last couple of seasons, takes over the reigns from Adam Hodgson, who has stepped down after two years in charge.

The rest of the captains stay the same with Mark Hodgson and Richard Stanbury tasked with ensuring that the seconds and thirds remain in County Division One and Division Three East respectively, while Nick Wills will continue to bring on the youngsters in the fourths.

Other notable changes at the AGM saw Paul Hicks take over as president following Andrew Smeeth’s two year term while former first-team captain Ben Smeeth has taken on Nick Wills’ role as vice-chairman.

Commenting on the decision to entrust Smith with the job, chairman Richard Jenkin, said it was an easy choice.

He said: “Paul is a very popular choice with the players. I got them all together at the end of the season and they all said that he’s the right man. He’s come up through the youth section, is Werrington through and through and has the support of all the players and the committee.”

Smith is equally delighted with the opportunity to take over of his boyhood club.

He told the Post: “I’m absolutely over the moon to be given the chance to captain Werrington. I’m honoured and privileged to be given the role. I’ve been at the club since the age of eight and worked my up way through. It’s the pinnacle of my career to be given the chance to captain my boyhood club.

“I’ve learned a lot from both Ben and Hodgy (Adam Hodgson) in my nine years in the first team. Ben is the best captain in the history of the club and arguably in Cornwall history.

“For Hodgy it was always going to be a difficult task but I thought he did the best he could. It’s now my turn and I’m massively excited to get started. I can’t wait to walk out at Ladycross for my first game as captain. I’m chomping at the bit.”

Smith has appointed wicket-keeper Nick Lawson as his vice-captain, and with him living up in Birmingham during the week, he believes that Lawson will be a perfect sounding board.

He said: “I’ve spoken to Nick a lot about it. He’s one of my best mates in the team and it made a lot of sense. He’s highly respected and he had a great year last year so it should work out well.

“He’s got the respect of the dressing room, the committee like him and his commitment to the cause is superb, so it made sense for him to be my eyes to the ground.

“We’ll talk daily and he’ll go to selection, meetings and whatever else we need. I’ll give him my thoughts and he’ll relay them back to the committee.

“Communication is key, but we talk a lot anyway so there won’t be any problems.”

Werrington won the Premier League three times in the space of four years up to 2015. However, the departure of the talismanic Alex Smeeth, who went to live in Australia, left a massive void, one which they are yet to get close to replacing.

In the last two seasons since he left, they’ve finished a disappointing sixth and fourth.

However, with the club actively pursuing a top-class professional or overseas, Smith admits that they’ll be gunning to reclaim the title.

He said: “We’ll definitely be looking to win the league. If you don’t think your going to, then there’s not much point. Last year we finished fourth which was disappointing with the team we have.

“Fourth is okay but Werrington have a winning mentality because we won those three Premier League titles and losing hurts.

“We’re looking to improve even further, work hard and hopefully have some success.”

Smith has played in the first team regularly since 2009 when he was just 16 and has also made a number of appearances for Cornwall in both one-day and four-day cricket.

However, he admits that he has learnt plenty from both Smeeth and Hodgson, and is looking to combine their qualities.

He said: “Ben implemented this ruthless streak. When we had a team at say 60-6, we’d keep our foot on the pedal and often bowl them out for less than 100 instead of letting them get up to a respectable score.

“To be fair to Hodgy we lost Al and taking out a player like that has had a massive impact. It made his job very hard without having that star player to turn to when you needed a wicket.

“However he was very good at keeping positive and keeping everyone going and I learned a lot of him.

“I want to put those things together. I’m a big believer in positive, attacking cricket. Especially now we play the 50 over win/lose format. You’ve got to go out looking to win else teams in this league will just walk all over you. Once we walk out over that white line we go out there with a positive attitude and a motivation to win.”

Despite failing to get close to the title, the hard-hitting right-hander isn’t looking to make many changes, especially to a star-studded batting line-up, which didn’t quite live up to its undoubted talent last summer.

He said: “On paper, our batting line-up is one of the strongest, if not the strongest in the league.

“We have people like Nick and Tom Dinnis coming in at seven and eight and all of our top eight have played Minor Counties cricket at some point.

“As a group we underachieved with the bat and I think that was down to complacency.

“Because we have so many good batsmen, most of them didn’t perhaps take responsibility for their wicket as much as they should have done. We got out at the wrong times, so we need to read the situation of the game better to make sure we stay in and build partnerships.

“Yes I want to see attacking cricket but there’s a fine line between taking calculated risks and being reckless.”

Early wickets were Werrington’s achilles heel this summer and Smith is desperate to add some pace to his line-up.

He said: “Ben and Hodgy were our two main bowlers last summer and they’re both spinners. To be fair, Tom Dinnis stepped up and came onto the scene and did a lot of good things but there wasn’t a lot else. James Turpin didn’t have a great year with the ball but he’s up at uni and I’m sure he’ll be fitter and stronger for next year.

“Our biggest problem last year was a lack of early wickets. We didn’t really have two set opening bowlers. I’m looking to add one, maybe two seamers.

“If you can get a team three or four down for not too many then you can really put the other team behind the eight-ball. That’s why I’m really looking for, someone from either overseas or in the South West to give us that option.”

“I think the rest of the line-up is strong enough. As I said, with the batting it’s just a question of performing to the best of our abilities.

“Hopefully everyone will be up and ready to go. If we can strengthen with a good pro or overseas then hopefully we’ll be challenging.”

Smith also insists that despite looking to strengthen the first team, the door isn’t closed, and that anyone performing is likely to be given a chance.

He said: “What I want in the club is that every player wants to eventually play for the firsts and play at the best standard they can. We’ve got one of the best youth sections in Cornwall so it’s important to use it.”

Smith is also looking to keep an eye on promising fast bowler Dan Barnard, who made a fine impression in the second team last season.

He added: “Dan Barnard has performed really well in the seconds and is now on the boarderline between getting into the firsts. With a good start to the season, he’ll most certainly be banging on the door. I’ll be keeping an eye on the seconds for sure.

“Having the seconds in County One is great for the club. It means that the gap between the firsts and seconds isn’t so big. Everyone wants them to do well and with the seconds being in that league, they’re going to attract promising youngsters in their own right.”