Luke Sutton wary of Worcester
6:40am Friday 10th July 2009 in Sport By Graham Hardcastle
LUKE Sutton says Lancashire are determined not to underestimate County Championship strugglers Worcestershire at Old Trafford this weekend.
The Red Rose begin today’s LV Division One clash looking for their first four-day win in five matches, and a clash with the bottom placed side provides the perfect opportunity.
“Worcester might be struggling, but they are difficult side. They have some good players, and it will be a difficult test for us,” said the wicketkeeper. “They are underperforming at the moment.
“We need to click up our Championship play a couple of gears, and we want to get ourselves back in the top three places.”
To do that, their batting must improve. It has been a well documented problem, but Sutton has stressed that it is something the coaching staff and squad are addressing.
Lancashire’s haul of 10 batting bonus points from seven matches is the worst in the top flight of the Championship, and the second worst in the country behind Essex’s seven.
“It’s an issue,” continued 32-year-old Sutton. “We have not batted well in the Championship this year and last year.
“We have talked about how to address it, and I am confident that we have got good direction.
“We have got to stay on top of it. We have got some very talented batsmen at this club, and it’s just a case of putting the package together.
“Peter Moores is very good at looking at a situation. What players want is direction. If they can’t see the way out of it, they want someone to show them.
“He’s sat us down, and given us some clear direction on how we can sort it. It’s definitely something we need to address, but we are in the process.”
Sutton has been one of the strugglers in recent times. His last competitive score above 50 was against Hampshire on July 11 last year, and his last hundred came against the same opponents in August, 2007.
But he is showing signs of improvement, having got into double figures nine times in his last 10 innings in all competitions.
“I feel great, but I would like to kick on with some big runs,” he continued, reflecting on a high score of 34 in the last four-dayer against Nottinghamshire.
“I have tinkered with a few things in my glove work, and I have refreshed my body by not playing Twenty20.”
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