ADAM Fleming said he hopes that one of Hadleigh & Thundersley’s bright young stars can take the club onto the next level after he announced his decision to stand down as skipper.

The 29-year-old from Rochford told his teammates he was giving up the captaincy at the end-of-season dinner on Saturday night.

Fleming has captained the side for nine years after taking over midway through the 2004 campaign when he stepped up from vice-captain following Steve Brown’s departure.

“Nine years is a long time, so I just felt now was the right time to hand it over to someone else,” said Fleming.

“I think now is the right time for one of the younger lads to take the club forward, and I hope one of them will stand up and take it on.

“And now, personally, I’m just looking forward to playing some cricket without having to pick the team every week.”

Fleming said the highlight of his tenure was winning Division Two in 2009, and his personal playing highlight was his knock of 143 against Harold Wood during that victorious campaign.

Fleming said: “I stood up and said a few words on Saturday night, and thanked everyone who has played for me.

“And I really think the club is in better shape now and the teams are so much stronger with better players available. “Roy Soilleux and Roy Paul have done a great job in bringing through the younger players, and Keith Klein has also been a great support to me — I could not have done it without them.”

Hadleigh were in touching distance of one of the two Division One promotion spots for much of this season, but ultimately fell just short and concluded their campaign with a defeat to champions Chingford on Saturday.

The club have not decided who will succeed Fleming, but those in the running could include vice-captain Dan Boughtwood, emerging all-rounders Joe Robbins or Ollie Wagstaff, and Essex second XI man Adam Soilleux.