Luke Wright named England men's selector

Former England allrounder Luke Wright has been named as the new England Men's selector. The 37-year-old is currently completing a coaching assignment with Auckland and will take the England Selector role at the end of March next year.

Wright will input into all England Men’s squads and team selections from senior teams to Lions and Young Lions. He will share responsibility for selection with coaches and captains of the red and white ball teams, England Men’s Managing Director Rob Key, Performance Director Mo Bobat and Player ID Lead David Court.

Once he takes up the role, he will be responsible for being across all domestic cricket in the summer, will be involved in decisions on Central Contracts, and will work closely with Bobat, Court and the scouting network on talent identification. He will also work with the ECB science and medicine team on player availability and programming.

"It's a huge honour and privilege to take on this role, one that I am incredibly excited about. With the Ashes and ICC Men's 50-over World Cup next year, I can't wait to get started and try to contribute after what has been a fantastic year for England men's cricket," said Wright.

To focus on his new role, Wright has also announced his retirement from professional cricket. The right-hander batter, who was part of England's 2010 T20 World Cup-winning squad, played 50 ODIs and 51 T20Is, scoring close to 1500 runs and picking up 33 wickets with his medium pace. Overall, he played 344 T20s and scored 8526 runs at an average of 29.19 and a strike rate of 142.81.

"Off the back of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup win and a successful summer for our men's Test team, I'm delighted that Luke will be joining as England Selector. With his significant experience of playing in England and overseas as well as his in-depth knowledge of county cricket, he will be an important voice in squad selection while also helping to identify the next generation of England stars," said Key.

"It's an exciting time for England men's cricket, but with the Ashes and the ICC Men's 50-over World Cup next year there is a lot of hard work ahead if we are to build upon what has been an exciting year."

(With inputs from the ECB media release)