New boy hoping it's all downhill

Damien Wright will make his first-class debut at Hove today with a special request for skipper Mike Yardy: “Can I bowl down the hill?”

The 33-year-old, fresh from helping Victoria win the Sheffield Shield, hasn’t played at the County Ground before even though Sussex is his third English club following spells with Glamorgan and Northamptonshire.

He said: “I’ve seen Hove on the TV when there are people everywhere for Twenty20 and it’s a beautiful ground.

“Hopefully I will get to run down the hill - I’m not looking forward to bowling uphill. I might not get it through to the keeper!”

Wright has initially joined Sussex until May 10 but he is likely to stand in again for Yasir Arafat in June if, as seems likely, Arafat is in Pakistan’s squad for the Twenty20 World Cup.

It’s an arrangement that suits Wright, who has just finished a gruelling season helping Victoria win the Sheffield Shield.

He added: “When I left Tasmania to join Victoria I didn’t expect to play a lot and thought I’d probably be doing a bit of coaching and thinking about things after cricket.

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