County news

Derbyshire line up Clarke swoop

Cricinfo staff

October 6, 2007

Rikki Clarke's career has gone downhill after early success © Getty Images

Clarke lost his place in the Surrey side for the last two months of the season after he managed 301 runs at 23 and 15 wickets at 42 in 10 Championship matches.

"I think taking on the captaincy will be the making of him," Morris told the Derby Telegraph. "We had a good meeting and Rikki was very positive. He has other options but I believe he is genuinely interested in what we were able to offer him."

Lancashire and Sussex are believed to be following developments, but a move to either of those counties wouldn't guarantee Clarke the first-team cricket he needs to re-launch a stalled career.

But although Derbyshire are well placed to secure Clarke, they have been thwarted in their attempts to sign Mahela Jayawardene after he signed up for the Indian Premier League.

"It's a pity because Mahela is really keen to try his hand at county cricket but it looks as if he will be involved in this Indian league," added Morris. "There are plenty of other overseas players to choose from and maybe we will get the chance to bring Mahela over some other time."

© Cricinfo

Add to del.icio.us | digg this | Stumble It What's this? If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content on cricket, you may use these buttons. When you add them to any of these sites, you "social bookmark" them for others to find and rate. More on del.icio.us>> More on digg>> More on stumbleupon>> Close

Current Cricinfo fantasy games - SL v Ind, Eng v SA & County Cricket Login and check the standings Add a Cricinfo Widget to your website now! Cricinfo Widgets Live scores, results, news, features and more - a click away Download the Cricinfo Toolbar

Stories

Clarke joins Derbyshire as captain

Players/Umpires

Rikki Clarke

Mahela Jayawardene

Teams

Derbyshire

England

Surrey