Sutton excited by new season

Luke Sutton is looking forward to his first season with Lancashire CCC © Getty Images

Luke Sutton admits he is counting down the days until the Liverpool Victoria County Championship season starts.

The wicket-keeper/batsman joined Lancashire from Derbyshire in October last year, but the lengthy wait has merely served to heighten the suspense ahead of the new campaign.

A move to Manchester was followed by winter fitness training and indoor net sessions, and Sutton took the field with his new team-mates only at the end of March during the pre-season trip to the West Indies.

However, he must wait until April 18, when Lancashire entertain Hampshire at Old Trafford, before he makes his competitive debut.

Sutton has been a star performer for Derbyshire over the years © Getty Images

"It's definitely been a case of just wanting to get on with it," Sutton told ecb.co.uk.

"We've put in so much preparation. We do five or six months of preparation, fitness, training – every facet is looked into.

"It's such a good set-up that (cricket manager) Mike Watkinson has got in place here, but you get to the point where you want to put it into practice, especially as a new player.

"You feel ready, you want to get going, and I think that's why everyone is so eager to get under way a week on Tuesday.

"You've got such great hopes and expectations for the season that you just want to get on with it and hopefully get some success."

Lancs have some highly-talented players in their squad

The quest for trophies was one of the main factors behind Sutton's departure from Derbyshire, who finished outside the bottom two of the Second Division of the championship only once in the last five years.

He claims he needed "new cricket, a new beginning", and it took him little time to notice the huge gulf between the counties.

"There are so many things about Derbyshire and Lancashire that are so different," he added.

"They are just in completely different leagues, with regard to resources and size. It's through no fault of Derbyshire's at all – it's just the way it is.

"I was in the last year of my contract at Derbyshire and I had made the decision that I was going to leave at the end of the season.

"As soon as I found out Lancashire were interested I couldn't stop thinking about it. The thought of playing at Old Trafford was so exciting that I couldn't turn it down."

Sutton was pleased with his form on the two-week tour to West Indies, from which Lancashire returned unbeaten.

Sutton knows Dominic Cork from their Derbyshire days

"The tour was brilliant," he added. "The wicket-keeping went really well and I scored some runs in the first game I played.

"It was good to get warm weather and to play outside. We had six matches out there – I played in four of them – and we had six good wins, which is not always crucial in pre-season but it helps. It's more about getting the preparation right for the players and it was really good preparation for me.

"It was a chance for me to play my first games for Lancashire, play with the other lads and get to know them on a personal level."

The team-mates to whom he refers include former Derbyshire colleague Dominic Cork, one of a number of experienced players who will hope to shepherd the younger players – and particularly the bowlers – through.

All-rounder Kyle Hogg, 22, has ample time to fulfil his undoubted potential, while there are also high expectations for fellow seamers Oliver Newby and Tom Smith, 21 and 20 respectively.

James Anderson has youth and experience on his side

James Anderson and Sajid Mahmood may be England internationals, but they are both under 25.

In Cork and Glen Chapple, who have taken a combined total of 1,366 first class wickets – such youngsters have a wealth of knowledge at their fingertips.

"We've got a bunch of players who are all very young, all very talented," said Sutton.

"There's also a huge pool of experience. The young lads want to make the most of that because you don't get that at every cricket club.

"They should be tapping into these guys' heads all the time. There's just massive experience in our dressing room and great talent.

"It's very difficult to know how well a young player is going to progress because promising players don't always progress as you think – they've got to do things right.

"But there's no doubt that in that group there are some talented players, and fingers crossed they come through."