TJ Reid set to captain the Cats

Young forward TJ Reid will have his appointment as Kilkenny's new captain ratified next week, following his nomination by county and provincial champions Ballyhale Shamrocks.

With Ballyhale having the honour of nominating the Cats' 2010 captain, the 22-year-old TJ got the nod over his brother Eoin. His appointment will be officially confirmed at a County Board meeting in the coming days.

Ballyhale's Henry Shefflin, James 'Cha' Fitzpatrick and Michael Fennelly have all skippered the Kilkenny side in recent seasons.

Reid made his Championship debut in the 2008 Leinster semi-final win over Offaly and memorably hit four points from play as an impressive substitute in that year's All-Ireland final victory over Waterford.

He was used as an impact sub during the Cats' 2009 All-Ireland-winning campaign, landing a point from play in the 2-22 to 0-23 triumph over Tipperary in last September's All-Ireland decider.

Reid, whose free-scoring efforts for Ballyhale have seen him named as AIB Leinster Club Player of the Year for the second successive year, has yet to start a Championship game for Kilkenny.

Ballyhale have made the suggestion that if Kilkenny are contesting a final and TJ is not on the team, new vice-captain Eoin Reid will lead the side. If TJ or Eoin are not in the starting line-up, nine-time All-Star Henry Shefflin will take over as captain.

In the event of Kilkenny winning a trophy this season, whoever is the captain at the start of the match will be presented with the cup.

This differs to last year's events which saw Shefflin start the All-Ireland final as captain but nominated skipper, Michael Fennelly, was the man to raise the Liam MacCarthy Cup aloft after being introduced as a second-half substitute.