Norfolk second team captain Nick Paling has stepped down from the role to concentrate on a family project.

'I've run out of time in my life,' said Paling, who was captain for two years. 'I'm building a house and it's got to the stage where it's all hands to the pump. I just can't give the county the time they deserve.'

Paling, his wife and daughter, who is nearly three, hope to move into the house within months but will still face work to complete the project. He reckons it will be late summer before he can realistically think of swinging a golf club.

Looking back on his term in office, Paling is pleased to have had the opportunity to bring on many young players and help them break into the county scene.

And he says: 'This isn't goodbye to golf, it's merely au revoir for now.'