A new year brings a new 1st Xl captain. It was announced a few months ago that Nick Stevens would be taking over the first team captaincy from Dom Reed and with the season fast approaching here are some key points about the new skipper of the leading team in the county.

Nick, a wicketkeeper-batsman, began playing for the Moles well over a decade ago and has played over 250 games for the club, including over 150 for the 1st Xl, amassing nearly 5,000 runs.

From a captaincy perspective Nick tasted success last season leading the 1st Xl to victory in the Bertie Joel. Tactical nouse, high performance and Nick’s ability to win coin tosses propelled the club through the cup’s many rounds and to the trophy.

Nick’s held a variety of roles at the club during his time. His role as fixtures secretary since 2017 has involved the task of arranging pre-season games. In addition to organising matches to be played at freezing temperatures in early April, Nick was a junior coach for many years providing a crucial service at both camps and training sessions.

Away from EMCC he's played representative cricket for a number of prestigious sides. He’s a playing member of the MCC and has continually played for the Club Cricket Conference since 2012. In his fourth year of University Nick played for Loughborough University MCCU.

A good wicketkeeper is an underrated necessity in any good side, I’m sure Nicos will prolong the 1st Xl’s golden era and play an important role in setting high standards for our senior teams.

A few years ago Australia decided to make a wicketkeeper their captain, it was an interesting decision, it did not end well. I’m both confident and hopeful that Nick enjoys a more successful and less eventful tenure.