Surrey win race for Footitt

Mark Footitt, the left-arm quick who has been one of English cricket's most sought-after close-season signings, has agreed a four-year contract with Surrey.

Footitt, who trained with England ahead of the Ashes series without managing to make his Test debut, will add new potency to Surrey's bowling resources as they return to Division One of the Championship

Derbyshire have released Footitt, who has a year left on his contract, with immediate effect after agreeing compensation with Surrey.

Derbyshire had no wish to lose Footitt but they had to bow to the reality - now well established despite the resentment of a few battle-hardened traditionalists - that a struggling Second Division club can rarely hang on to its most ambitious players.

Only a year ago, Footitt had insisted that he could win England honours at Derbyshire, but that view has shifted. It leaves Derbyshire with a 13-year gap since they last provided an England player - Dominic Cork at the end of his career - and with no immediate prospects of ending the run.

Footitt said: "It was a difficult decision to leave, but I felt that at this stage in my career, now is the right time to move on and the opportunity to play First Division cricket at a Test ground whilst working with another strong coaching set-up is the ideal next step."

The impression was that England did not quite have the confidence that Footitt would prosper against high-quality opposition - even allowing for the fact that much of the series was played on bowler-friendly surfaces - and a move to the Kia Oval as part of a vibrant, young Surrey side gives the bowler a chance to challenge the notion.

Simon Storey, the county's chief executive, said: "We obviously regret that Mark has decided to move on. Having rejected a contract extension on improved terms, Mark and his agent made it clear he was keen to explore options elsewhere and in these situations, it is better for all parties to find a solution professionally."

Derbyshire have already strengthened their seam bowling resources by signing Andy Carter from neighbours Nottinghamshire and completing the signing of Tom Milnes, who was on loan last season, from Warwickshire, but Storey suggested that more money would be made available to Graeme Welch, their elite performance director.

"It is now important that we support Graeme as he develops the current group of Derbyshire bowlers," Storey said. "We will also be ensuring the finance is in place to augment our bowling line-up with potential replacements."

Derbyshire ar left to hide their frustration as best they can. Elite Performance Director, Graeme Welch commented: "Mark has made great progress since joining the Club and in particular over the last two seasons which got him the call-up to the England Ashes squad.

"We of course would have liked him to stay, but we wish him well for the future and our attention is now on working with the promising crop of young fast bowlers at the club while continuing to look to strengthen our squad further."

Welch resists the label; of a struggling county for Derbyshire, who were expected to challenge strongly for promotion only to finish second bottom as well as suffer a lean time in limited-overs competitions.

"We are totally focused on developing a side that will be capable of competing in all formats and pushing for silverware," he said.