Vince appointed Hampshire T20 captain

James Vince, the 23-year-old Hampshire batsman, has been appointed the county's new T20 captain. It is a further rise in Vince's responsibility after he was made vice-captain of both the County Championship and 50-over sides.

Vince, an attractive batsman who toured Sri Lanka with England Lions in February, takes on the challenge of keeping Hampshire's superb run going in T20.

They have reached the last four finals days, lifting the trophy in both 2010 and 2013. Vince played in both successes under the captaincy of Dimitri Mascarenhas, who retired at the end of last season.

Vince has a solid record in T20s with almost 1500 runs at 27.49 coming at a strike-rate of 127.24. 23 is a young age to be placed in charge but Vince has now been a fixture in the Hampshire dressing room for four years.

"I'm looking forward to the challenge of captaining the side," Vince said. "It will be a very proud moment to lead the lads out in our first game. I'm lucky that we have a very talented squad and one that has already had a lot of success in the competition.

"I've played under some very good and successful captains who I've learnt a lot from so I will try and follow in their footsteps and hopefully we can have another enjoyable and successful T20 season."

Hampshire have been installed as favourites for this seasons NatWest T20 which will see group matches spread over the season in a regular Friday night slot, bringing in a new challenge for counties having to switch quickly between the longest and shortest formats.

Hampshire director of cricket Giles White naturally thinks Vince is capable of leading the transition: "James has impressed both on and off the pitch and this is a great opportunity for him. He has the respect of the group and thinks about the game well and for those reasons I am sure he will do an excellent job."