Tamworth cricket: Tait Jordan to lead City United in 2021/22 campaign

Back then he was "just a kid that was having fun and loving it".

Now a father of three, the quick has in recent seasons stepped up to be one of the spearheads of City's attack.

This season he is set to take an even more prominent role; taking over the first grade captaincy from Peter Mead.

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A "big honour", the 25-year-old admitted he never really thought he'd find himself a first grade captain and said it was "special to have made my way there just through persistence and love for the sport".

It will be a new challenge, with Jordan having never captained before, but one he is looking forward to and believes he's up for.

He said when the club knew Mead was going to be stepping down, they had a chat about who wanted to do it and he put his hand up.

"There was a lot of us young fellas that have all come up though together and played for five or six years and I thought it would be nice to be able to take the lead and see if we can try and win a premiership this season," he said.

City have enjoyed a bit of a resurgence in the last couple of seasons but do have a few big holes to fill.

Brad Smith has decided to play back in Armidale this season so he can spend more time with his young family, Mead has gone back to second grade while Tom Fitzgerald has moved down to Newcastle.

"But we've got fair few young second graders that are keen and so if they work hard and put their head down there's a chance for them there and they can make their mark on the season," Jordan said.

Former skipper Simon Toyer has also come back to play first grade this season and will be a welcome addition as that experienced head, especially in the batting.

That is where Jordan believes they need to improve to take that next step, and spoke about wanting to take on a bit responsibility himself with the bat this season.

He has been working on his batting, facing fellow quicks Jack McVey and Matt Holmes in the nets.

Holmes is an exciting prospect, and has, Jordan hopes, hopefully put the injuries that plagued him last season behind him.

"He definitely puts an extra string in the bow," he said.

"Last year he was there abouts, but just his body let him down a few times. This year I think he's primed, he started hitting the nets full tilt last week and looked pretty good."

After some uncertainty about when the season would start Jordan can't wait to rip in against South Tamworth on November 6.

"I'm definitely hungry to get out there and hopefully have a few wins and get through to Christmas and then see what happens after that," he said.

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