As a pace-bowling allrounder, it's no surprise that Luke Wright admires Jacques Kallis and Andrew Flintoff. When Flintoff retired from Test cricket after the 2009 Ashes, Wright was one the names mentioned as a potential successor but he has never quite managed to make the jump to Test cricket. He has had a taste of international cricket in the shorter formats but his England career has had as many stops as starts.

His boundary-clearing power means he is never far from England's plans, however, and he performed admirably in their World Twenty20-winning team in 2010. Wright contributed 90 runs in significant circumstances during England's successful campaign, and though he bowled only one over in the tournament, it was a pivotal one - he got rid of the in-form Cameron White in the final against Australia. Though his international fortunes have waned since, his bank balanced has benefited, with Wright playing T20 cricket for Melbourne Stars in Australia's Big Bash and Pune Warriors at the IPL.

Before all that Wright represented England Under-19s, won the Denis Compton medal four times and scored a century on his Championship debut for Sussex. He was also a key part of the Sussex team that won the C&G Trophy in 2006. He spent two winters at the National Academy based at Loughborough University, where he was right at home having studied Sports Science and Sports Massage there.

It was his performances in the 2007 Twenty20 Cup, when he was the leading run-scorer with 346 runs, that captured England's attention. He was selected in the ODI team at The Oval later that summer, hitting 50 on debut against India although drifted out of the one-day set-up following the 2011 World Cup.

However, Twenty20 cricket promised more. A sparkling 44-ball hundred in the Big Bash in January 2012 - the fastest in Australia's domestic competition - meant T20 riches will never be far away and he was recalled to the England squad for the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.
Jenny Thompson and Sahil Dutta