Derbs name ex-Leics seamer Wright as bowling coach

Derbyshire have appointed newly retired seamer Chris Wright as bowling coach.

The 40-year-old ended his playing career after helping Leicestershire to County Championship promotion as Division Two title winners last season.

In a professional career that spanned more than two decades with Leicestershire, Middlesex, Warwickshire and Essex, Wright claimed more than 800 wickets.

His final season with Leicestershire was played with a desire to repay the club for supporting him during what he called the "tough and lonely" months he spent trying to defend himself after failing a drugs test.

He was given a backdated nine-month ban in July 2024 after he tested positive for ostarine - a drug which has similar effects to testosterone - in September the previous year.

Wright moves across the East Midlands for his first job in coaching, replacing Ajmal Shahzad who left at the end of the 2025 season.

Derbyshire's head of cricket Mickey Arthur said Wright's "energy, enthusiasm and ideas" was what earned him the role.

"He's a very promising coach and, as someone who was playing the game at a high level as recently as last season, he will be able to form a great understanding with our squad and continue the development of our bowling attack," Arthur told the club website.