Shropshire captain James Ralph keen to lead by example
New captain James Ralph is aiming to repeat his greatest all-round performance for Shropshire in their Unicorns Championship home clash against Oxfordshire, which starts tomorrow.
Ralph, who will skipper the team at his home ground of Bridgnorth, plundered a a total of 217 runs when the teams last met in Banbury last July.
That included a superb 124 off 128 balls in the first innings and 93 not out in the second as Shropshire won by five wickets.
"That was probably my best performance all-round," said Ralph.
"There's not many times on the chase in the three-day format that I have batted that well.
"Hopefully I can emulate that performance this time around."
Ralph, who starts his second spell as captain, is determined to guide the team to their first win of the Championship campaign following two straight losses to Wales and Herefordshire.
His last spell at the helm spanned three years from 2007 and he believes the team's current situation mirrors the one he inherited then as they enter a transitional phase.
Ralph said: "People have moved on, either into the first class game or with work commitments. Last time I was captain I picked relatively unknown people at the time in Jack Shantry and Richard Oliver.
"People were probably surprised but they were were good picks, they made their names and they went on to better things.
"I am hoping that from the group we are picking from, another Richard Oliver or Jack Shantry will emerge in the next couple of years."
