Luke Sutton

So Luke Sutton is back. As far as I’m concerned, that is very good business by John Morris and I would like to think that the majority of Derbyshire fans will agree with me. Sutton is an excellent gloveman but is also a stabilising influence in the middle order in whatever position John Morris deems appropriate.


In his first time with us he batted in most positions in the order, making a good fist of the openers job on occasion. That is not where I would see him now, as it is asking a lot of a wicket-keeper to concentrate for hours in the field then do the same when batting, with no opportunity to relax.

For me, Sutton is the number seven I alluded to last week, a man who can help an innings to recover from a wobble and nurse the tail towards a competitive total. I liked what he had to say in the Derby Telegraph this morning and I am sure that his competitive attitude will rub off on his colleagues. Similarly, his experience will be invaluable in a team that is fairly short of it. As the first step in what will be a winter of team rebuilding, this one gets a thumbs up from me.

That Telegraph article can be seen at:

http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/sport/county-skipper-Sutton-set-return-Derbyshire/article-2607767-detail/article.html

There were other candidates in the frame, of course. Steve Adshead has proved himself a good man behind the stumps during his extended trial, without scoring the runs that were required to become the front runner. As I wrote last week, a wicket-keeper today really has to supply a minimum of 500 Championship runs, as James Pipe did, to cement a place in the side, as well as contributing in one-day games. For all the fact that he has been latterly overlooked in favour of Gareth Cross at Lancashire, Sutton averages over 30 in the T20, suggesting he is no mug at the shorter game. While he is not known as a hitter, his running between the wickets is up there with Dean Jones and Garry Park as the best I’ve seen from a Derbyshire player. We have lacked someone with a bit of nous in the latter stages of an innings and Sutton should help in that regard.

I never thought Tim Ambrose a likely candidate for us, as his salary demands would have been an issue. Cricketers of international experience don’t come cheap and Ambrose’s batting over the past year or two has shown signs of decline. His first-class average is only three runs higher than Sutton and is five runs less in T20. Nor is his glovework as good as it might be, which was, of course, why he lost his England place. Put it another way, if we could not match Graham Wagg’s demands, how could we match those of a man with reasonable international experience?

Joel Pope from Leicestershire is as inexperienced as Tom Poynton and, promising as he is, the role is too important for us to take a gamble. We saw with Lee Goddard that prolific scores in Second XI cricket don’t necessarily translate to success in the first-class game.

Niall O’Brien? He and Sutton were my favourites, but it is still not confirmed that he is leaving Northamptonshire. His Irish commitments mean he misses more than a few matches, which would legislate against him. It would not be beyond the realms of possibility that someone might engage him as a punishing top order batsman who offered cover behind the stumps, but that would depend on the availability of other targets. The early signs are that a number of players may be looking for deals this winter, so I doubt John Morris would make any hasty moves, unless he has a specific player in mind.

Which he obviously did with Luke Sutton, and is where I came in. I don’t subscribe to one view, expressed below, that we have signed a man who will now ‘coast to retirement.’ He’s not that sort of player and I like the fact that on the club site he talks about helping young players to come to terms with the demands of the first-class game. He will challenge them and will continue to push himself to maintain the high standard that he has met in his career.

While the player has signed a two-year contract, he talks about having ‘at least three’ good years left. That timescale would enable Tom Poynton to work with him and perhaps ultimately replace him as first choice.

A good, solid signing. A few more like that and there will be no complaints from me. The bottom line, as Brian Clough used to say, is whether he is better than the guy he replaces.

He is, so that's one problem sorted.