Luke Wright steps down as England Men's selector

Luke Wright will step down from his position as England Men's selector following the upcoming T20 World Cup.

After more than three years in the role, Wright informed the ECB of his decision, citing a desire to spend less time on the road.

The announcement follows England's 4-1 Ashes defeat during their recently completed two-month tour of Australia.

"It has been a true honour and privilege to serve as an England Men's selector over the past three years," Wright said. "I have fully immersed myself in the role and am incredibly proud of the players we have brought through.

"The role demands significant travel and time away from home and with a young family the time feels right to pass the baton on to the next person. I now look forward with real interest and enthusiasm to whatever cricketing roles the future may hold."

Wright went on to thank his colleagues, players and Rob Key, the ECB men's managing director, "who trusted me with such a responsibility".

Key said: "I have absolutely loved working with Luke. His contribution to English cricket has been exceptional and I trust his judgement as much as anyone. He has added so much more to this role than just being a selector. I'm very sad to see him go and I wish him and his family all the best for the future. I have no doubt that at some stage down the road he will enhance English cricket once again."

England's Ashes defeat has placed pressure on Key's position, and that of head coach Brendon McCullum, with the ECB in the midst of a sweeping review of the campaign.

In the meantime, McCullum is with the England squad in Sri Lanka as part of their preparation for the T20 World Cup. England's first game is against Nepal in Mumbai on February 8.

At the age of 37, Wright called time on a 20-year professional career with England and Sussex, highlighted by victory in the T20 World Cup in 2010, upon his appointment as selector in November 2022.

Wright had already had coaching stints with Melbourne Stars in the BBL, Rajshahi Kings in the BPL and Southern Vipers Women in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy. He also spent time on New Zealand's support staff and with Auckland as performance and talent coach.

During his time as England selector, players who made international debuts across all three formats include Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson and Shoaib Bashir, while Josh Tongue and Brydon Carse played their first Tests, the latter also making his T20I debut.