Keeper ready to be paired up

8:44am Tuesday 18th March 2008

LANCASHIRE'S senior wicketkeeper Luke Sutton believes there is a place for both himself and Gareth Cross in the Red Rose one-day team.

The club's pre-season tour of the UAE is only two games old, yet there is already healthy competition developing between the two glovemen.

Sutton is still seen as the first choice in the County Championship arena but the former Derbyshire skipper is no longer considered to be a certainty behind the stumps for any form of one-day cricket.

The pair have both kept wicket for a game each, and former Clifton man Cross played as an opening batsman in the game against Essex on Sunday when Sutton had his turn with the gloves.

"I do think that there is room for both of us in the side. We will just have to see how things pan out," said the 31-year-old, who hit 51 not out and took two catches against the Eagles.

"I have my own standards and my own expectations as to what I want to achieve. I certainly think that I can contribute to the one-day side in the middle order as a batsman and obviously with the gloves."

Cross hasn't yet set the world alight with huge scores on this tour but the experiment of using his attacking nature to exploit the powerplay overs seems to be working.

He hit 26 off 31 balls against the UAE on Friday, before whacking 33 off 41 balls against Essex.

Sutton added: "All I can do is get on with focusing on my job."

Olympic silver medal for Jason