CAPTAINCY: Luke Wright appointed new Sussex skipper

Sussex CCC have announced that Luke Wright has been appointed as Club Captain across all three formats of the game.

Wright, who captained Sussex in the NatWest T20 Blast tournament in 2015 and led them to the quarter-finals, will also now assume captaincy in both the LV=County Championship and Royal London One-Day Cup, following Ed Joyce’s decision to step down as skipper last week.

30 year-old Wright, who first joined Sussex in 2004 from Leicestershire, enjoyed an excellent season with the bat in 2015, scoring 1210 LV=CC runs and making his career-best 226 not out against Worcestershire.

His form earned him the Sussex Player of the Year Award and Wright, who has played over 100 times for England in one-day cricket, averaged 51 and 45 in the NatWest T20 Blast and Royal London One-Day Cup respectively for the Sharks this year.

Wright said of his new role, “I am hugely proud and honoured to be the Captain of this fantastic club. To think that I am following in the footsteps of some great captains is a massive privilege.

“Mine and the coaches’ challenge is to get this club back to winning ways. This starts with not only trying to get back to Division One, but to create a culture that can challenge to win it.

“We also need to be successful in all forms and I was delighted with the improvements we made this season in the T20 competition, but a lot of hard work is required by all to achieve these goals.

“Thanks to all the Sussex supporters for sticking with us through what has been a difficult summer but hopefully good times are ahead.”

Sussex’s Professional Cricket Manager Mark Robinson said, “We’re delighted that Luke has accepted the offer of captaincy. It comes at an important time for the club, as we look to rebuild and come back stronger for the 2016 season.

“Luke will bring a lot of experience from around the world, as well as passion, commitment and energy. He will have the full respect from everybody from within the club and the game.”