Lancs sign Sutcliffe

Sutcliffe averages 32.58 in first-class cricket

Iain Sutcliffe ended weeks of speculation over his future by signing for Lancashire on Monday.

The experienced batsman had been courted by a number of counties since ending his eight-year career at Leicestershire ealier this month.

Sutcliffe weighs up options

But Lancashire saw off Somerset and Nottinghamshire in the race for Sutcliffe's signature.

The 27-year-old left-hander, who has scored more than 6,000 runs in first-class cricket, is happy with his move to Old Trafford.

"I am delighted to be joining Lancashire and look forward to being part of the club's promising future," Sutcliffe said.

"I have ambition to win competitions and to play the game at the highest level possible and hopefully my performances will help these to happen."

Additional depth

Lancashire cricket manager Mike Watkinson is looking forward to Sutcliffe bolstering his side's batting order.

"Iain will provide our batting line-up with additional depth and quality along with the variation of being left handed," Watkinson said.

"I am especially impressed by his attitude and he should fit into the squad very well.

"As previously stated the future of the club lies with our youth policy, however, gaps in batting resources have led us to look at quality replacements from outside the county."

A spokesman for Lancashire could not confirm the length of Sutcliffe's contract.

Sutcliffe is the second batsman to join Lancashire in the off-season following the retirement of Neil Fairbrother and Graeme Lloyd.

The county snapped up former Northants batsman Mal Loye in October.