Wright move from Luke

Big-hitting batsman stakes his claim for England start.

Last updated: 2nd February 2008

luke wright

Wright: Big hitting

Every time we go out in the middle or in training, I think everyone is trying to impress and get in that first side.

Luke Wright
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Luke Wright did not think he was even going to get to the crease before he hit his brutal 42 to stake his claim for a start in England's opening tour match in New Zealand.

Big-hitting Sussex man Wright was batting way down at number eight as England took on Canterbury in their first match on the tour of New Zealand.

Using 13 men during the match, Peter Moores wanted a good look at his batsmen, with two Twenty20 internationals next week followed by the one-day series.

With only five overs left in the match Wright finally got to the crease, and he really made it count as he hammered 42 runs off just 15 balls to help England to 295-6 - a total that would win the match.

Wright has made his name with such brutal batting attacks, and his well-timed knock gave Moores a glimpse of his talent and could have played his way into the Twenty20 side for next week.

Quick blast

"To be honest, I didn't think I was going to get in, but it all happened quite quickly and it was nice to get in for five overs and luckily it went well," said Wright.

"I suppose it suits me to either go in at the top of the order or going in at the end and just trying to get bat on ball. It was perfect for me and Ravi to go in and have a go.

"We've got a strong squad so everyone is fighting for their places at the moment.

"Every time we go out in the middle or in training, I think everyone is trying to impress and get in that first side."

Ian Bell also performed well with 79, while Kevin Peterson made some welcome runs with 48 and James Anderson took five wickets.

Played on

Canterbury were bowled out with 21 balls to spare, but England bizarrely played on as Moores wanted to get in the full 50 overs, as the home side finished on 261-11.

"We didn't actually know for sure what was happening," Wright admitted.

"We wanted to get 50 overs in our legs because we've not done in for a while now so we wanted to stay out as long as we can."

England play their final warm-up game against the same opposition tomorrow but have reduced the number of players per side from today's 13 to 12 to complete their preparations before Tuesday's opening Twenty20 international in Auckland.