As a medium-fast bowling allrounder, it's no surprise that Luke Wright admires Jacques Kallis and Andrew Flintoff or that he hopes to emulate the latter in one day playing for England. That moment came a step closer when he was named in the Twenty20 World Championship squad.

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

He took further steps towards emulating the likes of Flintoff and reaching the England side in February 2006 when he was called to the West Indies to bolster the England A squad, who had lost players to the seniors in India. Being in the Caribbean certainly beats spending your 21st birthday in the depths of the English winter.

But his career really took off during the 2007 Twenty20 Cup when he was the leading run-scorer with 346 runs, enough to earn him a place in England's 15-man squad to South Africa.