Kieran 'Fraggy' Murphy has been appointed Cork hurling captain in succession to John Gardiner. News of the appointment was relayed to the players at their first training session of the year in Mallow last night when it was also confirmed that Bishopstown's Shane O'Neill would fill the role of vice-captain. Murphy, who captained Sarsfields to the Cork SHC title in 2008, described the appointment as a "huge honour" for himself and his club. He also paid tribute to outgoing skipper Gardiner. "In fairness to John, he was the first fella over to congratulate me and that says a lot about him. He's been a great captain for us over the last three years and I've to try to do something similar now," he said. "I'm absolutely thrilled about it. It's a huge honour for both me and my club. As a squad, we're really excited about the season and we're looking forward to giving the National League a good go." Cork manager Denis Walsh said Murphy was an "ideal player" for the role. "Kieran is a very level-headed guy who's gained a lot of experience by now. He's been there over the last few years and we felt that now he was the ideal player for the role. "I'd also have to say that John Gardiner has been a great captain over the last few years. He has done an exceptionally good job in what were at times very difficult circumstances." Tweet

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