Barnard replaces former captain Alex Davies, who decided to step down from the role after two seasons.

The 30-year-old all-rounder led the Bears in the One-Day Cup in 2024 and 2025 and will now also do the job in the County Championship and T20 Blast.

“I don’t think you know you’re ready for it until you do it,” he adds. “I couldn’t have had a better prep doing the vice-captaincy and leading the 50-over stuff, but I certainly feel confident in my ability to lead and to work with this group.

“Also, this group doesn’t need too much leading. There’s plenty of experienced heads in there, the likes of Woaksey [Chris Woakes] and Barks [Keith Barker] coming back in; I shouldn’t have to do too much.

“I’d be stupid not to use the experience we’ve got in the team. There are hundreds of first-class games throughout, not just the two I mentioned; there’s plenty more in there.

“Obviously I’ll be the one making the final decision in the end, but there’ll be plenty of heads around to help, and I’m really excited to see what we can do with that”

Barnard scored 922 first-class runs in 2025 and more than 1,600 in all competitions and also took 29 Championship wickets.

He’s not too concerned that the captaincy will affect his own form with bat and ball.

“It’s something I’m going to have to try and challenge myself with. It’s something a little bit new for me, but I feel like in the 50-over stuff I managed to separate it out quite nicely and still perform well in that. I don’t feel I need to change much.

“All through my career I’ve tried to just get better and better, and every year I tried to work hard to improve my game.

“Obviously my batting has taken off the last few years, compared to earlier in my career, and it’s something I’m really enjoying. I love batting a long time, getting big scores, and putting in consistent performances for the team.”

“With the ball as well, I still feel I can be really effective as part of a group. I’m just looking to improve on last year, but anything I can do to help this team win some silverware would be pleasing.”

Listen to every ball of every County Championship game this season on BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app.