Shrewsbury had been seeking a replacement for Rob Foster after he opted to stand down as skipper of the Birmingham League club at the end of last season.

Foster led his home town club to two premier division titles during four successful years at the helm.

Stebbings, the top order Herefordshire Minor Counties batsman, stepped forward and is excited about taking on the role.

"Ben's only been at the club for a year but he's got a high standing within the Birmingham League and among the Shrewsbury players already really," said Ed Foster, Shrewsbury's long-serving opening batsman and former captain

"He's a respected guy, he's played Minor Counties cricket to a good level, he's played first class cricket for Oxford MCCU and he'll be a good replacement for Rob.

"It will be good to have someone of that ilk leading the side.

"While it was a bit of a transitional year last season, we showed our strength and the potential that we've got by finishing third in what was a fairly average year for us, so having someone like Ben come in with a lot of enthusiasm and who's keen to make the most of his club cricket is good.

"I think he'll be quite ambitious really in terms of where he wants us to finish."

Shrewsbury were also expected to unveil their new second team skipper at last night's AGM with batsman Tom Somerville lined up to replace former Shropshire allrounder Jon Anders following his decision to relinquish the role.