A right-arm medium-fast seamer, Ian Hunter grew up just outside Durham and made his start at the county after making his way through the youth ranks with a place in the second XI in 1997. After a couple of seasons, he made his first XI debut in the CGU National League in 1999, and also represented England Under-19 against Australia in three youth Tests in the same year. But for the next five years, he struggled to cement a first-choice spot, and was released by the county at the end of the 2003 season.

He dropped down to the minor counties, playing for Cumberland, and was in the field for them one day when Dave Houghton came to watch the game, chatting to Hunter when he was fielding at the boundary edge. A move to Derbyshire came soon after, and he played his first game for them in the County Championship in late 2004, opening the bowling and picking up three wickets in an eight-wicket loss to Essex.

He enjoyed reasonable success for the county, taking 70 wickets in his first two seasons and earning another two-year contract at the end of 2006, but he struggled to hold down a place in 2007, appearing in a solitary Championship match and a handful of limited overs games. He enjoyed a fuller season in 2008, though his appearances were split between the first and second XIs, and played in seven County Championship games in 2009, taking 21 wickets and picking up a career-best 5-46 in a drawn game against Essex. He duly signed a new contract for 2010, but although he accompanied the team on their pre-season trip to Barbados, he again struggled to find a place in the first XI.

Unusually, Hunter is colour blind, and so struggles to pick the ball up when training indoors.
Liam Brickhill