Turner to move to Derbyshire

Fast bowler Mark Turner will be leaving Somerset after signing a two-year contract with Derbyshire. Turner, 25, moved from Durham to Somerset in 2006 in search for more permanent opportunities but, as with many quicks, found Taunton a tough place to prosper and did not play any first-class cricket this season.

He was offered a new deal by the Somerset but has revealed that a longing for more opportunities to play first-team cricket is behind his decision to sign for Derbyshire.

"I have played quite a bit of one-day cricket with Somerset and I've done quite well," Turner said. "But I haven't managed to establish myself in the four-day game and that is what I'm trying to achieve.

"Derbyshire showed an interest in me and after speaking to John Morris I knew the move was the right thing to do. The opportunity to play in all forms of cricket is something I can't turn down at this stage of my career. I am looking forward to the challenge."

Turner won't be a stranger at the County Ground having previously played alongside Steffan Jones and Wes Durston with Somerset.

"The plan is to get to Derbyshire and work really hard to push for a place. My new club are getting somebody who can bowl with a bit of pace and somebody who runs in and tries his hardest with every ball he bowls."

"Mark is a talented cricketer with his best years ahead of him and I am delighted to add him to our squad ahead of the 2011 season," added John Morris, Derbyshire's head of cricket. "That fact that he has been prepared to make this move in search of first team cricket demonstrates that Mark is an ambitious cricketer who is striving to better himself. That is just the kind of player we want to bring to Derbyshire."