Forget Harmison. Think Wright.

I think most people missed the big news that came out of England's winter touring parties. The BBC was typical in having as its headline 'England omit Harmison for SA tour', yet the selection of Sussex all-rounder Luke Wright (below) was a far more interesting and significant story.




A classy allrounder is not essential in a top Test side, but it's pretty damn important. If you don't have an allrounder, then you better have a leg-spinner (Australia in the nineties) or a fearsome battery of pace bowlers (the West Indies in the eighties). The England selectors obviously have high hopes for Wright, and this winter could be his big chance to make a mark in a Freddie-less England.

Luke Wright is the future. The omission of an under-performing, retirement-threatening Steve Harmison should have been the least surprising part of the entire announcement.