Wright aims for opening

Luke Wright got England Lions out of trouble with an innings of 120 against New Zealand

Luke Wright admitted he was setting his sights on forcing his way into England’s Test squad after scoring a superb century for the Lions against New Zealand at the Rose Bowl.

The Sussex all-rounder has been a member of England’s one-day squad for the last year, but is yet to feature at international level in the longer format of the game.

But on the opening day of the four-day game against the tourists at the Rose Bowl, Wright demonstrated his credentials in front of national selector Geoff Miller and coach Peter Moores by hammering 120 as England Lions were dismissed for 280.

Wright hit 16 fours and two sixes and helped the Lions recover from slipping to 126 for five at tea by adding 154 in the final session to give a more respectable shine to a poor batting display.

Asked about his ambitions for Test cricket, Wright said: “It’s something I have been trying to work hard on.

“The big thing for me this year was to try and score runs and try and prove I can bat in this form of the game as well.

“So far this season it’s been going well but it’s up to me to carry on that form and I do have to try and curb my attacking instincts sometimes.

“At times in the past I’ve tried to do it too soon and not given myself a chance, which I’ve had to do in one-day games as well.

“It’s always nice to score runs and even better when the selectors are here as well.”

Wright’s aggressive display in the final session, which included reaching his second first class century of the season by hitting seamer Tim Southee over midwicket for six, prevented New Zealand taking a firmer grip on the match.

But having beaten Essex last week and with only a week to go before the opening npower Test at Lord’s, the tourists are satisfied with their preparations.

“We’ve moving in the right direction as a group,” added seamer Chris Martin, who finished with three for 58.

“The bowling is going quite nicely and there is plenty of competition for places at the moment and I suppose all we need know is a 400-plus innings from our batsman.”