CHRIS Wright intends to build on his superb debut for Warwickshire and bowl his way into a longer-term contract at Edgbaston.

Fast-bowler Wright, newly arrived on loan from Essex, started in style with match figures of seven for 96 to help the Bears to a crucial innings victory over Yorkshire at Headingley.

He bowled with a pace and accuracy that made a mockery of Essex’s decision to release him and not even play him in the 1st XI for the last two months.

During that time he has even dropped down to the East Anglian Premier League to play for Bury St Edmunds.

But Wright, who admits he was surprised to be freed by Essex, looked every inch a championship First Division bowler as he was powering Warwickshire towards a vital victory in Leeds.

“I wasn’t expecting to be released,” he said. “Essex have good senior bowlers and some good younger bowlers not really anyone in between and, at 26, I bridge that gap. I think I did a good job for them but they obviously didn’t see it that way for whatever reason.

“So this a great chance for me to get some cricket under my belt and try to impress.

"I don’t know whether or not I believe in fate but people say things sometimes happen for a reason so maybe this has just come up at the right time.

"I found out on Tuesday last week I was being released and soon got a call from Graeme Welch, who I worked with at Essex, saying Warwickshire might take me for a month because they have a few guys on England duty and injured.

“It would be brilliant to play plenty of games but I will just try to do the job I am asked to do and hopefully do it well.”

The former Cambridge UCCE and Middlesex player certainly did it well at Headingley with two important top-order wickets in the first innings and then five for 31 in the second.

“I was a bit nervous because it all happened very quickly,” he said. “When I signed for Essex from Middlesex I had pre-season to meet the lads but this time I was thrown straight into a big match at a big time of the season.

“In some respects it was quite daunting but I was very pleased with the way it went. We stuck at our task well and got our rewards.

“It would be great to play all the games but I will take it step by step, try to have a good loan spell and take some wickets and help the Bears in the situation they are in.

“They have had a fantastic season and have everything to play for.

“Whatever happens, I can do a lot of work with Graeme Welch on a few technical things. He is a great coach which is another good thing about this loan. He knows me and my game pretty well.”

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WARWICKSHIRE’S championship title hopes received a big boost on Friday when Chris Woakes was not selected for England’s Twenty20 and NatWest Series squads against India.

The inclusion of Woakes, who played in England’s victory over Ireland in Dublin last Thursday, would have been a big blow for the Bears who would have been without their most influential all-rounder for the last three games of the season.

Instead, Woakes is back in the fold well in time for the game against Yorkshire starting at Edgbaston on Wednesday.

He will join a seam attack, led by Keith Barker and Chris Wright, which skittled the Yorkshiremen at Headingley on Thursday while Boyd Rankin is also available again.

Neil Carter appears likely to be one player to make way but with Will Porterfield also returning, Carter will not be the only man unlucky to be left out of a team which has just outclassed the opposition to win handsomely inside three days.

“We have guys back and decisions to make,” said captain Jim Troughton. “It is a good place to be in.”