Early in 1931 Fender offered to resign as Surrey's captain, to give Jardine more experience of leadership before he assumed the England captaincy, but Surrey declined. Fender scored 916 runs and took 84 wickets that season. However, the Surrey committee were becoming disillusioned with Fender as captain after he had missed matches in 1930 to work as a journalist. Another point of contention was that Fender, against the wishes of the committee, preferred to keep in-form professional players in the team instead of playing amateurs when they were available. There were disagreements over expenses, and the committee disapproved when Fender declared Surrey's innings closed after one ball, to make up time in a rain-affected match. A series of other controversial incidents further antagonised the committee. As a result, Fender was dismissed in January 1932, a move rumoured in the press for some time and which was quickly leaked. The club released a statement which said Fender would only stand down if a suitable replacement could be found, before Jardine was officially appointed in March. It is likely that the uncertainty arose because Jardine took his time in accepting the position. Fender supported Jardine's appointment, and pledged to continue playing under his captaincy.