TOM Huggins will lead Suffolk against Staffordshire in their Minor Counties Championship match at Ipswich School tomorrow despite the return of Chris Swallow to the side.

Swallow was in charge for the final two matches of Suffolk’s one-day campaign, but

Huggins led Suffolk to a 50-run success against Cambridgeshire at Bury St Edmunds in the absence of injured skipper Justin Bishop.

Huggins has been given the nod to continue at the helm for the fixture at Ivry Street, start 11am, and with Bishop set to undergo keyhole surgery to repair ligament damage to his left knee, he could possibly lead Suffolk for the rest of the three-day campaign.

Kevin Brooks, Suffolk’s director of cricket and coach, said: “Chris Swallow did very well in the one-day games, but is not available for the duration of the season. ‘Huggy’ did very well against Cambridgeshire so he will stay in charge to keep the continuity as captain.”

Huggins will have not only Swallow but Paul King available to bolster Suffolk’s attack, although they will have to wait and see whether Tony Palladino is released by Essex.

Palladino bowled exceptionally well against Cambridgeshire, taking eight wickets in the match, as well as scoring useful runs down the order.

Brooks said: “It would be nice to include him in the side if he is available, especially as he bowled so well against Cambridgeshire.

“In Chris Swallow and Paul King we have a couple of more experienced players available, which is important against a team such as Staffordshire.

“There were some very good individual performances that got us the result we were looking for against Cambridgeshire, but unfortunately our batsmen have not been as consistent as we would like.

“Our top order is very experienced and I am sure it is only a matter of time before we see the kind of performances from all the batsmen that they are capable of.”

Suffolk (from): T Huggins (capt), B France, M Cull, H Adnan, F Klokker, C Warn (wkt), C Swallow, A Palladino, S Rees, M Nunn, J Finch, P King.