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David Leatherdale is to leave his post as chief executive of Worcestershire to take up a similar position with the Professional Cricketers' Association.

Leatherdale, 48, will leave New Road in March to end a 30-year association with the club as a player and administrator.

"It is a sad day for Worcestershire and a massive loss to the club," said chairman Stephen Taylor.

"It's one of those prestigious roles and I can fully understand David taking it."

All-rounder Leatherdale spent his entire playing career at New Road, making his debut in 1988 and helping the club win and retain the Championship title in his first two seasons.

In all, he won six major trophies, scored more than 15,000 runs and took more than 300 wickets in all forms of the game.

Leatherdale became commercial director after retiring in 2005, before succeeding Mark Newton as CEO five years later.

With Leatherdale staying at New Road until mid-March, Taylor said there was no rush to find a successor - especially as the role may change.

"There are not many chief executives out there now who are past professional cricketers and, as a club, we will start the process of looking at finding the right person for the right role," he added. "The role may look slightly different to the current role is as these will be big shoes to fill."