Alex Davies says Vice Captain role is an “honour and privilege”

Alex Davies spoke with great pride after being officially named as Warwickshire's Vice Captain.

Announced internally during the Club’s pre-season tour to Cape Town, the 28-year-old will support Club Captain Will Rhodes in the LV= Insurance County Championship and One-Day Cup, as well as stand-in as captain whilst Moeen Ali is playing in the IPL.

In a role that involves plenty of responsibility, Davies concedes that he wasn’t expecting the opportunity so soon, but a natural leader and popular member of the dressing room, Davies is thrilled to take on the illustrious task.

“It wasn’t on my radar and I was just trying to get to know the lads and offer what experience I do have,” said Davies who arrived from Lancashire last winter. “I like to help where I can and, obviously, my main motivation is to win games for the Club. I’ve loved my time here so far and it’s been an amazing move for me.

“For them to give me this opportunity is a massive privilege and a huge honour at this great club.”

Davies added on the T20 Captaincy: “That’s exciting and Mo has been really good. He’s been chatting to me quite a lot, especially in the lead up to this tour with the messaging that he wants to pass on to the team and the brand of cricket we want to play.

“We’re just looking to build on the things that Carlos started with us last year.”

Speaking at the beautiful Groot Drakenstein Games Club, Davies was full of optimism for the season ahead. Injuries, touch wood, are minimal and there’s competition for all eleven places in the squad.

During their tour, the Bears won all four T20s, before coming on top of each of their three days play against Yorkshire with the red ball.

“The squad was brilliant anyway, but the additions we’ve made both overseas and domestically will give some headaches for the first game of the season,” Davies stated. “There’s not been a weak link on this tour and I actually don’t see it as whoever plays that first game being the best team. With our seam attack, the additions we’ve made mean there’s real competition for places there, especially if we rotate a few guys.

“With the schedule the way it is, if some guys play three on the bounce, we have the luxury of giving one of them a rest to recharge and come again the next game. I think some of the best teams in the Championship have had that luxury and it’s looking like we we might have that.”

The T20 side will also have an abundance of riches. Falling just short last year after breaking numerous records, more talent has been added to the ranks.

Hassan Ali, Glenn Maxwell and Paul Stirling have been added as overseas, whilst Ed Barnard joins Mo up the M5.

“I think it’s a really exciting squad,” Davies concluded. “Losing Olly Stone, I think Hassan is a more than good enough replacement there and Glenn Maxwell speaks for himself. He’s the Big Show and will win many games on his own as he loves the big stage.

“We’ve got the experience in Mo and Danny Briggs, as well as Chris Benjamin and Dan Mousley who were the best young players in the country so the squad really complements one another.

“Last year was a really good year for us. We scored 200 seven times and that’s the aggressive brand of cricket we want to play. We obviously had a little hiccup in the quarter final, but on another day we go through and then everyone knows that anything can happen on Finals Day.

“This year with the additions, I firmly believe we can go one step further.”