Neil Dexter

Neil Dexter has hinted he may resume the Middlesex captaincy in time for the start of their one-day campaign over the May Bank Holiday.

Dexter decided to hand over the skipper’s duties to Chris Rogers just before Middlesex’s County Championship draw with Durham, following a wretched run of form with the bat.

Despite responding with Middlesex’s highest score of the match, a first innings knock of 65, Dexter remains cautious on setting a timescale for him to reclaim the captain’s role.

“It’s a temporary stand-down and we’ll approach the captaincy again when the time is right,” he told london24.com. “You want to be scoring runs because that’s the best way to help the team.

“We’ve come a long way as a squad in the last two years and it was hard for me to stand down. I think Middlesex have given me an opportunity I wouldn’t have got anywhere else.

“Everyone has backed me 100 per cent – they know I’ve been through a tough period and they’ve been very supportive of the decision I’ve taken, so I don’t want to let them down.

“I’m focusing on getting back to the top of my game. I don’t want to look too far ahead but I’m still the club captain and I’m still looking to captain the team in the CB40 and t20.”

Middlesex have just one more County Championship game, at home to Worcestershire next week, before their Clydesdale Bank 40 programme begins against Gloucestershire on May 7.

Whether or not Dexter feels ready to return as skipper for that match, he is confident that the captaincy is in safe hands with Rogers, the former Australia international who also led the side in his absence last season.

“It was for [director of cricket] Angus Fraser to decide who took over, but I knew that Rogers was the type of guy who would go along with what we’ve done so far,” Dexter added.

“When I’m captaining he offers good advice on the field and he’s got a great knowledge of the game – you can’t ask for more than that.”

Rogers, who previously captained Derbyshire before moving to Lord’s, does not expect taking temporary charge to have a detrimental effect on his own batting form.

“I have done it a fair bit now and I’ve always been quite good with the bat while I am captain, so I am not that worried about it to be honest,” he said.

“The circumstances aren’t ideal, but any time you get an opportunity to captain you jump at it and of course it is great to do it at Lord’s.

“I spoke to Neil about the responsibility and it can be quite challenging at times. You have to be selfless and worry about other people more than yourself.”