Leicestershire seamer Chris Wright to retire at season's end
Veteran will hang up boots after helping Foxes back into Division One of the Championship
ESPNcricinfo staff
15-Sep-2025 • 5 hrs ago
Chris Wright in One-Day Cup action • Warren Little/Getty Images
Leicestershire's Chris Wright has announced he will retire at the end of the 2025 season.
The 40-year old seamer, who came through at Middlesex before playing for Essex and Warwickshire, has been at Grace Road since 2019 and will depart with the club returning to Division One next season for the first time since 2003.
A veteran of over 200 first-class matches, he has the chance to move to 600 career dismissals before hanging up his boots. Wright will also finish with 202 dismissals across List A and T20I cricket.
By far the most productive period of Wright's career came at Warwickshire. On the verge of being released by Essex without a county in 2011, he was recruited to Edgbaston by bowling coach Graeme Welch and struck up a devastating partnership with left-arm seamer Keith Barker.
An initial loan stint was made permanent for the 2012 season. Wright immediately repaid the faith with 62 wickets as Warwickshire secured their seventh County Championship title. He also helped the Midlands club to T20 Blast and One-Day Cup glory in 2014 and 2016, respectively. All in, he took 325 wickets for the county.
In 2024, Wright missed the start of the season after admitting two breaches of the ECB's anti-doping rules after testing positive for ostarine, a drug which has similar effects to testosterone, in September 2023. A nine-month suspension was backdated to October 2023, allowing Wright to return to action in July that summer.
In a statement released on social media, Wright said: "When I moved to Leicestershire in 2019, my goal was clear - to help the club return to first division cricket. Now that this has finally been achieved, and having celebrated my 40th birthday, it feels like the perfect time to announce that I will be retiring at the end of the current season.
"Becoming a professional cricketer was a dream that began when I watched my dad play club cricket and joined him on trips to see Hampshire at their old county ground, Northlands Road. To have lived that dream for so many years has been the greatest privilege.
"I'm incredibly grateful for the support I've had throughout my career - from the coaches who guided me at every stage, to the team-mates who made every day memorable. Most of all, I want to thank my family and my partner Carly, whose selflessness and encouragement have allowed me to chase my goals for the past two decades.
"I'll cherish the trophies and the wins, but it's the daily moments with team-mates - the laughter, the challenges, and the friendships - that mean the most. Now it's time to give back to the game I love, helping the next generation of players achieve their own ambitions! Forever grateful!"