Bopara hands captaincy back to ten Doeschate

Ravi Bopara has stepped down as Essex's limited-overs captain after one season in the role. Bopara wants to focus on his own game, with Championship captain, Ryan ten Doeschate, taking over in all formats.

Essex continued their recent trend of losing knockout matches in 2016, with quarter-final defeats in the NatWest T20 Blast and Royal London Cup - something that occurred the previous year, under ten Doeschate, as well. Bopara's all-round form was solid, if not spectacular, but he went a second consecutive season without scoring a hundred in the Championship.

Although Bopara's bowling was a key feature of Essex's promotion to Division One - he was their third leading wicket-taker with 42 - he only managed 750 runs at an average of 37.50. His last Championship century came in June 2014.

Ten Doeschate was previously Essex's limited-overs captain before succeeding James Foster in charge of the Championship side this year, leading the team up as Division Two champions at the first time of asking. He said he was happy to reunite the roles and allow Bopara, who is currently playing in the Bangladesh Premier League, to concentrate on his form.

"Ravi did an excellent job in limited overs cricket last year, leading us to quarter-finals in both formats," ten Doeschate. "If we had a bit more luck we could have progressed further. He has decided he would prefer to concentrate on his individual game next year and make valuable contributions throughout the season.

"We respect Ravi's decision and I was more than happy to take up the captaincy in all formats as I have thoroughly enjoyed my role in the Specsavers County Championship so far."