Biography

Born in Grantham, Leicestershire, Luke started his career in 2003 at Leicestershire, before joining Sussex in 2004 – at the age of 19. Since then he has developed into a talented all-rounder at both domestic and international level.

A century on his Sussex debut signalled the start of a very promising career at the top level of the game. He has won the Denis Compton medal three times in his domestic career, was the leading run scorer in the 2007 Twenty20 Cup – against Kent he hit 103 runs off only 45 deliveries and finished the Twenty20 series with 346 runs – which led to him being called up to the England squad for the 2007 Twenty20 World Championship. He was also called up to England’s ODI squad for the final two games against India.

Luke has represented England at all levels, having represented England at U-17 level and being taken on tour in 2003 with England U-19s to Australia. Against South Africa, in 2003, he took a hat-trick and finished the game with match figures of 5 for 46.  He also played for the England A team in a tour of the West Indies in 2006.

September 2007 saw Luke make his England ODI debut against India at Lord’s scoring a half century in his first innings. He was also selected for the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa, playing in every match. Luke was selected for the 2008 Tour to New Zealand, and after impressing with both bat and ball in the two practice matches, he was selected to play in three of the five matches. In the ODI series, which England went on to lose, Luke hit 71 runs at 35.5 and sent down five overs at the cost of 28 runs. These overs included the final over of a tied ODI, where New Zealand needed seven to win and only managed six from Luke ‘s bowling. After this, he continued to be a regular member of England’s Twenty20 and ODI squads, playing in home series against New Zealand and South Africa in 2008.

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