Wright on the mark

Luke Wright during his fifty for England © Getty Images

Buy this photo

England all-rounder Luke Wright could miss the NatWest Series decider with India at Lord’s on Saturday should all-rounder Andrew Flintoff prove his fitness on Friday but he has already revealed himself as the Lancashire star’s hard-hitting successor.

Sussex’s Wright carried his county form on to the international stage on Wednesday by hitting a debut half-century for England off only 38 balls against India at the Brit Oval.

Although the 22-year-old’s repair job alongside Owais Shah helped the hosts recover from 137 for five to post 316 for six, India sneaked home by two wickets and he is not guaranteed to retain his place.

Flintoff, 29, batted for more than half an hour in the Nursery Ground nets on Thursday afternoon and is scheduled to bowl on Friday at full England practice, ahead of the NatWest Series decider on Saturday.

Thursday's session with those members of the squad that did not feature yesterday also saw Chris Tremlett bowl at full tilt after an injection in his ankle.

“I will be desperate to play but if I was not to play and we win then great,” said Wright, whose powerful strokeplay was reminiscent of Flintoff’s batting in previous summers.

“If I do play I hope I can contribute to us winning that game. It was fantastic to play in a game like that, it was just a shame we didn’t get the sugar-coating of getting on the right end of the result.”

Having topped the run-makers’ chart in domestic Twenty20 cricket this summer at the top of the order, Wright took a tentative seven balls without scoring and then exploded into a flurry boundaries, including a slog-swept six the ball after getting off the mark.

"If I had tried to play any other way it would have probably put more pressure on me and I would have ended up getting out a different way,” said Wright.

“Sometimes if you go back at a bowler and try to put pressure on the fielding side it is a great way of relieving pressure on yourself.

“What I look to do is hit the ball as hard as I can each time.”

Wright may have been upstaged by Dimitri Mascarenhas’ five consecutive sixes which concluded the innings but his own effort culminated a remarkably rapid rise this summer.

It has been a circuitous route to success for Wright, who was not even Sussex’s first choice to fill in as pinch-hitter when Matt Prior was called up by England earlier this summer.

When he belatedly got his chance against the new ball his remarkable assaults, hitting 346 runs in 20-over matches this summer, demanded attention.

“When Matt Prior went off to play for England they wanted to experiment and to start with they tried it with Ollie Rayner,” explained Wright.

“Luckily when I got a nod to give it a go in the Twenty20 it went well and I carried it on in the Pro40.

“They had always liked me coming in to finish an innings at seven or eight so they might not have been keen to move me in the batting order.

Andrew Flintoff is approaching full fitness © Getty Images

Buy this photo

“I was just hoping to prove myself at the top of the order, win some games for Sussex and establish myself.

“Obviously as it has gone well it has come with extra recognition; it is unbelievable to be sat here now among England players.

“It has been a strange two-and-a-half months, a real dream come true.”

Coming into an England group headed by Peter Moores, the coach who lured him to Hove as a teenager from Leicestershire, and including Prior and close friend Stuart Broad no doubt helped him relax.

Having made his first-class debut against Sussex in 2003, he envisaged a brighter future away from Grace Road and was granted a release from his Leicestershire contract.

“I had always done well for England Under-19 at the time but it was pretty much a gutsy move,” Wright explained.

“It was at the stage where I wasn’t getting much opportunity with Leicestershire really and I couldn’t see quite where I was going to fit in.”

Wright’s versatility to bat at the top or in the lower order is a rare one.

“Whenever I have played cricket - whether it was when I first tried to get into the Sussex side or now playing for England - I have always said I will bat anywhere,” he added.

“If someone told me I was batting 11 and I was just in to field I would take it.

“Whether it is seven or up at the top, it is playing a similar way and not trying to complicate things too much.

“I just love batting and have a natural inclination to go at the ball.”