Harmer appointed Essex T20 captain

Cape Town - Essex Cricket appointed former Proteas spinner Simon Harmer as their T20 Blast captain.

The 30-year-old takes over the reins from SA-born Ryan ten Doeschate, who will remain as the club captain and continues to skipper the red-ball and 50-over side.

Harmer, who extended his Kolpak deal with Essex until the end of 2019, was a regular member of last season's T20 campaign and deputised for Ten Doeschate last year.

The off-spinner will now take on the role permanently and will lead the Essex Eagles out at Lord's on Thursday, July 18 against Middlesex in the opening fixture of the competition.

"It's an exciting challenge, I think there's going to be a lot of expectation going forward as we haven't performed to the levels we know we're capable of, but it's a challenge that I wanted and I'm really looking forward to leading the team in the right direction," Harmer told Essex Cricket TV.

"My biggest focus is going to be on making sure we’re doing the right things off the field, training hard and taking care of the little things in cricket, and ultimately the rest of it should take care of itself."

Looking forward to another exciting county season... Some new challenges to look forward to as well. First up, Hampshire on Friday! @CountyChamp @EssexCricket ?? https://t.co/Y0heBDHsgR

— Simon Harmer (@SimonHarmerRSA) April 2, 2019