Sutton set to retire?

If the Daily Mail's assertion that Luke Sutton is set to retire is correct, then Derbyshire will lose a good cricketer, a solid captain and an outstanding man.

There is fair credence to the story, of course. The player did a blog in the newspaper last summer, so they would be as likely as any to break the news first. Similarly, the players extensive interests outside the game suggest he will not be looking around for his next move, nor ending up on the umpire's panel sometime soon.

Of course, until we hear it from the horse's mouth it remains only conjecture. There will be time enough for an appreciation of the player, if required, but my first thought on hearing the news was that it would leave us very short of experience but with the consolation of the budget to bring someone in. We will also need a new captain.

I have no doubts that Tom Poynton is a good enough player to take over behind the stumps, though how well he adapts to week in, week out cricket at the top level we will need to wait and see. I do feel, however, that we need some experience in a side that would otherwise notionally read, from the start of the season:

Guptill
Borrington/Lineker
Durston
Madsen
Redfern/Hughes
Whiteley
Wainwright
Clare
Poynton
Groenewald
Palladino

There's talent a-plenty in that line-up, but no major experience. Given that the 'landmark signing' won't happen for well documented reasons, not least because we've now signed Martin Guptill, any injection of experience is likely to have to come from the domestic market - at least unless we go down the Kolpak route, which I think unlikely.Let's not forget that Sutton's departure will see us shorn of three experienced players from last year, Jones and Smith being the others. I'm all for giving youth its head, but there has to be a balance, unless next year's shirt sponsors are Mothercare and we're renaming our HQ the Bugaboo County Ground...

Does that see a move for Jamie Dalrymple? A solid player of good experience, he offers a lot to a side as a batsman, off-spinner and fine fielder. His departure from Middlesex was because of his leadership aspirations and there are not many counties where such an opportunity might present itself. By the same token, his stint as skipper at Glamorgan was not overly successful, stories of a divided dressing room with strong characters making it into the media. How much the captain could or should have done about it is a moot point and much would depend on his remit within that club.

As for Kolpaks, I don't see any obvious candidates in South Africa, the only qualifying country with enough players of talent. Some might suggest Robin Petersen, but his chances of a Kolpak deal must be marginally better than mine, having walked straight back to the international fold having renounced it to take up a county deal. Again, we don't need another slow-left armer either.

Of course, there are other options. One would be to make Wayne Madsen or Wes Durston captain and use the money from Sutton's salary to bring in another seamer, perhaps one with greater experience than we might otherwise afford. Looking at the team above raises the question of who you omit to hypothetically play Dalrymple. Is there sense, or merit, in bringing him in to take the place in the order of Redfern, Hughes or Whiteley? Had we not signed David Wainwright he would have been a good  - very good - number six or seven, but we have, so...

What I will  say is that whoever picks up Dalrymple will have a good player who, at 30, is coming into his prime. Aside from the fact that his signing would mean three young batsmen outside the team, he would also give great balance. Players good enough to bat in the top five who can also bowl good off spin are not readily available and, should Derbyshire do so, we could then field a balanced side of three/four seamers plus two spinners.

Like I say, it is all conjecture at the moment, but confirmation would mean that Karl Krikken has to make some interesting decisions regarding the future make up of his squad.

We will watch with interest.