KENDAL CC’s Chris Miller is relieved at no longer having to shoulder the responsibility of skippering the side, with whipping opponents into a spin now his sole focus.

The 25-year-old relinquished his position as captain last June after two and a half years in the Shap Road hotseat, a period which saw the club taste Readers Cup glory in 2012.

Replaced by Stu Parkin, Miller stepped down citing injuries and a loss of form, finishing the 2013 season with 33 wickets at an average of 19.69.

And having made a bright start to the current campaign, Miller is content to act as a sounding board for those now charged with steering the Kendal ship.

“It’s nice just to have the ball in hand and concentrate on trying to get wickets for the team,” he said.

“I suffered a loss of form last year, had injuries and the side wasn’t doing particularly well which didn’t help. All those things added up and it took its toll on me.

“It was refreshing not to have to worry about things over the winter, having to source a professional or being involved in player recruitment.

“The break from that side of things was good after the last few years and it was really beneficial just to focus on cricket.

“It’s great also not to have to worry about taking people off in the field or anything like that.

“But that said, I do find myself stood at slip thinking about things and do pass on certain things to Stu.

“So I do still contribute in that regard, I just don’t have the responsibility of putting things into practice.”

Miller’s off-spin has so far claimed 13 Northern League victims this summer, although rain denied him the opportunity to add to this tally last time out at Darwen.

No doubt eager for scalps when Kendal entertain Leyland on Saturday, Miller believes Shap Road is one of the hardest venues in the league to extract spin.

“I personally feel playing at Shap Road you have to have more to your game as a spinner with the wickets being so good for batting,” he added.

“The pitches don’t offer a lot of spin so you have to bring more to your game in terms of bowling around the wicket, being able to flight it and using the pace.

“But against Morecambe it was the first time this year I’ve bowled anything like I can, hopefully that can act as a springboard for the remainder of the campaign.

“In terms of the weekend, Leyland are a good team and have won the league twice in three years but we’ve got a decent record against them.

“Man for man I think we.ve got as good a team as them, if not better, so it’s about turning up on the day and putting in a performance.”