England recall in Wright's sights

Luke Wright is hoping a winning knock for Sussex in Saturday's FTP final with Hampshire can lead to an England recall

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Luke Wright is eyeing the Friends Provident Trophy final as a chance to promote an England one-day international recall.

All-rounder Wright, 24, has not played for England in an ODI since last summer’s thrashing of South Africa, but with Andrew Flintoff’s fitness beyond the Ashes in question, the showdown with Hampshire offers the perfect chance to turn in a clinical display.

Lord’s domestic finals have traditionally attracted the attention of the England selectors, who will soon turn their thoughts to picking a limited-overs party to take on Australia in September.

Wright, who was today included in England’s provisional 30-man squad for the ICC Champions Trophy at the end of the summer, said: “Any time you score runs or take wickets is important but with the crowd pressure and the eyes of the selectors on you for this game doing well can only enhance your cause.

“The more you can put in big performances, the more people who matter will think of you. Hopefully I give myself a decent chance.”

Wright also began his week at Lord’s as England’s 12th man on the final morning of the 115-run Ashes victory.

“I found myself very jealous watching the guys walk out to acknowledge the crowd going absolutely mad,” said Wright.

“You really do want to be a part of that kind of thing.”

If he can continue to improve his overall statistics, Wright could even compete for the all-rounder’s berth in the Test side with Flintoff’s retirement imminent.

Although his FP Trophy return this season is not at the level he might aspire to, he has 414 runs, including two hundreds, and 13 wickets in six first-class matches.

England fast bowling coach Ottis Gibson pinpointed Wright’s ability to create genuine pace with the ball two years ago and his development in that area has been aligned to an increase in production with the bat.

“I am working harder and the results are getting better, so I hope I am going the right way when it comes to pushing for Test places,” he said.

“It would be a dream to play as an all-rounder for England in Test cricket.”

Wayne Parnell sends Luke Wright back for just one as South Africa triumph in the ICC World T20 match at Trent Bridge

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That may be some way off but he remains in the equation for the shorter formats of the game, having started last month’s ICC World Twenty20 with a bang only to fizzle out in the final few matches.

“That is what Twenty20 is about,” said Wright. “You are either a hero or a villain at the top of the order.”

Tomorrow’s contest against their south-coast rivals, meanwhile, gives Sussex the chance to open a new chapter of success in the post-Chris Adams era.

Both Adams and experienced Pakistan leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed have retired in the past 12 months but the club have maintained their success despite a transitional phase.

“Considering all the players we have lost we have done really well,” Wright said.

“We have just found a formula and worked really hard, which has meant we have over-achieved on what we expected this season.

“We are lucky that we have got so many all-rounders, which gives us lots of guys that can bat and so many bowling options.

“And that has meant that different guys at different times have stood up.”

Coming to Lord’s for the Friends Provident Trophy Final? Due to planned engineering works, the Victoria Line and Jubilee lines are suspended and St John’s Wood station will be closed. Lord’s is well served by other London Underground stations within a short walk. From Victoria, take the Circle Line via High Street Kensington to Baker Street. From Waterloo take the Bakerloo line to Baker Street. Upon exiting at the ‘Lost Property Office’ exit, follow the blue pedestrian signs to Lord’s which will take 15- 20 minutes. For those less able to walk, proceed down Melcombe Street to Dorset Square where bus services 139, 189, 274, 13, 113 and 82 all have stops close to Lord’s. To plan your route in advance visit: http://www.lords.org/findus.html