Luke Wright to Step Down as England National Selector After T20 World Cup

Luke Wright is stepping down as England national selector. He will do that after England participates in the T20 World Cup. His term was just a bit longer than three years. Wright, an English former cricketer and former captain of Sussex CCC, decided on his own to resign. Wright is not being forced to step down; although England lost the Ashes series 4-1 in Australia, that was not the main reason.

"The role demands significant travel and time away from home and with a young family, the time feels right to pass the baton on to the next person. I now look forward with real interest and enthusiasm to whatever cricketing roles the future may hold. Nevertheless, Wright's exit is another alteration to the England staff as they look to rebuild after the Ashes," said Wright.

"I have absolutely loved working with Luke. His contribution to English cricket has been exceptional and I trust his judgement as much as anyone. He has added so much more to this role than just being a selector. I'm very sad to see him go and I wish him and his family all the best for the future. I have no doubt that at some stage down the road he will enhance English cricket once again," said England director of cricket Rob Key.

Key and head coach Brendon McCullum have been offered the chance to remain in post - provided they can implement changes that will improve results and team culture. Off the back of a tour of Australia blighted by dropped catches, England have brought in fielding coach Carl Hopkinson on a short-term basis for the three T20s in Sri Lanka and the World Cup that follows.

Troy Cooley, the Australian who was famously part of the England coaching team for the 2005 Ashes, has returned as national pace-bowling lead, although his arrival was planned for some time. England have also introduced a midnight curfew for the tour of Sri Lanka and the World Cup. On Wednesday, white-ball captain Harry Brook admitted supporters have "every right to be annoyed" after he was punched by a nightclub bouncer in October on the eve of the third one-day international against New Zealand.

Luke Wright to Step Down as England National Selector After T20 World Cup

England, meanwhile, will have to find a replacement for Wright ahead of the domestic summer, which starts with a home series against New Zealand in June consisting of a three-Test series. Wright, who featured in 101 white-ball games for England, took up the job at the end of last year and formed a panel alongside Key and McCullum, as well as England captains Ben Stokes and Brook.

This appointment has the potential to result in a shift of focus in the selection procedure, especially since the English recently selected to ignore performances in county cricket. Shoaib Bashir was identified as the number one spinner even though he was not the first choice for county side Somerset. Bashir was subsequently not considered for any of the Ashes Tests, enabling the English to pick Will Jacks, who had played only five games in the preceding two years.

Jamie Smith is not first-choice wicket-keeper for Surrey, but was chosen for England in the Test side and awarded the gloves, as opposed to, among others, Ben Foakes, who is wicket-keeper for County Championship side Surrey. Although it appears highly likely that Key remains in place as director of cricket, McCullum’s status and indeed who takes over as head coach will have a big say in who represents England for that Test series against New Zealand.

Certainly, they will need to find a spinner, whilst the immediate future of Smith and opening batsman Zak Crawley could also be under a cloud of doubt. Depending on fitness, they could also need to strengthen their pace attack.

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