Mark Robinson says he is surprised Luke Wright is not involved with England Lions after enjoying the best season of his career for Sussex last summer.

Wright has been overlooked by England since last year but Robinson is adamant he still has the chance to add to his 101 international caps and believes his development into a top order batsman in first class cricket could even earn him a Test call-up.

“Luke will be disappointed not to be even involved in the one-day squad and quite rightly so,” added Robinson, who will lead the Lions in South Africa. “But I don’t think the door is closed on Luke at all.

“No player is ever ruled out and certainly not somebody who is 29 like Luke and playing the best cricket of his career. He has moved his game on a little bit in the last year or two since he has stopped bowling and taken more responsibility for his batting.

“If Luke is able to back up what he achieved last summer, especially in red ball cricket, then I’m sure they will look at him as a serious contender and not just in one-day cricket.

“If he keeps doing well for Sussex in the Championship and proves he can handle the moving ball high up the order then I can see him being considered for Test cricket.

“At the end of the day it is all about the volume of runs you score. If he had played a full season last year then he would have scored about 1,200 runs and somebody doing that would have to be considered.”

Read an interview with Sussex coach Mark Robinson on leading the England Lions this winter in The Argus today