Last season's Northern Districts skipper Daniel Flynn has relinquished the role for the shorter forms of the game.

"We spoke about it and I wanted to put more emphasis on my while ball batting and I thought the time was right for a fresh voice," he said.

Fellow Bay of Plenty player Dean Brownlie will take over as captain for the T20 McDonald's Super Smash and one-day Ford trophy competitions, with Flynn remaining as captain for Plunket Shield games, the first of which started on October 22.

"Scoring runs is the number one thing from a personal perspective [this season] and I'd like to make some big contributions first up in the four-dayers," said Flynn.

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"I want to make some big scores and hopefully that will lead to a few wins for us in that competition. Then in white ball cricket, it's the same sort of thing - if I can make some contributions to help us have a successful campaign and win some trophies, that would be ideal."

Brownlie was looking forward to his first captaincy role, and said he was not wanting to change too much from last season.

"We [coach James Pamment and I] have a good relationship and we see the game in pretty similar ways in how it should be played. I won't be doing too much different to Flynny, continuing on the same direction with my own little spin on things."

Brownlie said he would turn to his senior teammates to help lead and give advice.

"As well as drawing on my own previous experiences, we have a few good leaders in the team that has had a taste of success and low points - I will be using them to help out in any way we can."

Renowned for his Northern Districts record triple century score of 334 against Central Districts two years ago, Brownlie was known as a steady and reliable performer.

Pamment said Brownlie's experience and leadership ability were key contributors when considering a replacement for Flynn.

"It's about sharing more leadership amongst our senior players and tapping into Dean's experience. It was very clear he has got something good to offer us from his manner, how he interacts with players, his knowledge and leadership qualities."

The first match as captain for Brownlie would be against the Wellington Firebirds at Seddon Park during the McDonald's Super Smash on Sunday, December 4.

Name change
Northern Districts will use the Knights name only for the T20 Super Smash competition this season.
For the Plunket Shield and Ford trophy competitions, they will revert to Northern Districts.