Wells: I feared my career was finished

LUKE Wells admits he was staring down the barrel in terms of his cricket career when Lancashire came to the rescue.

The batsman has endured a torrid year in which he was sidelined at Sussex - a county he has been with for more than 10 years.

And with the pandemic hitting county finances, the chances of finding a new club after being released were dwindling.

But Lancashire have taken a punt on the 29-year-old with a two-year deal, knowing that with 18 first-class centuries to his name he is a proven runscorer.

And Wells, whose dad and uncle both played for Sussex, admits he was fearing what the future held for him before the Red Rose came calling.

“I was staring down the barrel of having played my last game,” he said.

“Given the situation with Covid, all the uncertainty, finances, budgets, all these things, a lot of counties were coming back to me saying: ‘we’d love to have you, but finances’ etc.

“In such uncertain times to be given an opportunity like this is humbling, as much as anything.

“I feel so fortunate and grateful to be given this opportunity.

“After staring the reality of not playing again in the face, I’m just so excited now to be able to continue doing what I love for a living and to be able to appreciate what it is rather than stressing too much about it, and just enjoying every moment of it.”

Wells has had a mixed few years. After racking up 1,292 first-class runs in 2017, he hasn’t amassed that number in 54 innings he has played since. It resulted in Sussex head coach Jason Gillespie telling him he wouldn’t be playing at all in the Bob Willis Trophy last season.

“I won’t hide behind the facts. In recent times, my performances haven’t been at the level I would expect of myself, or that other people would expect of me,” said Wells.

“I would never hide behind that. I do think that I potentially became a bit stale, without really realising it.

“As I said earlier, to be facing the stark reality of potentially never playing again, it’s given me a whole new perspective.

“It’s not all going to be roses – pardon the pun – at Lancashire.

“There will be tough times, and times when I get low scores. That happens in cricket.

“But I know that I will view it all as part of the journey and embrace and enjoy all of it rather than stressing and worrying too much about each individual game and performance and looking too far ahead.

“This new chapter, it’s a big move - I’ve been at Sussex all my life. It’s up north, it’s a brand new fresh start. I don’t know the place very well and don’t know the guys that well, but I’m looking forward to getting to know them. I know them as great competitors.

“I really think they can win trophies.”