Luke Wright is determined to bring the good times back to Hove after being confirmed as Sussex’s new captain.

The former England international was the unanimous choice to take over as skipper following Ed Joyce’s decision to step down in the wake of Sussex’s relegation last week.

Wright had already replaced Joyce as Twenty20 captain last season and underlined his credentials for the role by leading the Sharks to the quarter-finals.

The 30-year-old has already targeted an instant return to division one of the Championship next season and wants to create a culture where Sussex can challenge for silverware again after six years without a trophy.

Wright said: “It is a huge honour to be asked to be captain as I know there were other people who I am sure would have done a good job “I’m delighted. I really enjoyed leading the Twenty20 side last season and can’t wait to get my teeth into doing the job in all formats.

“Looking at the squad we have I’d like to think we have a good chance of coming straight back up if we get our attitude right and work hard.

“But my aims go beyond that. I don’t just want to get us back into division one, I want to put things in place which mean that when we do go up we can compete with the top teams.

“We’ve also got to be more competitive in white-ball cricket. I want to be challenging in all three formats.

“Just because we are a smaller county with a smaller budget than some others it doesn’t mean we should have small ambitions.

“Seeing Gloucestershire winning (the Royal London One Day Cup) at Lord’s should be a great inspiration for club’s like us.

“It shows that smaller counties can do it if you get things right and I’m looking forward to the challenge of trying to do that.”

Wright was immediately installed as the frontrunner to take over from Joyce after rejuvenating Sussex’s fortunes in Twenty20 cricket.

He got the nod ahead of opening batsman Chris Nash who had served as Joyce’s vice-captain for the last three seasons and is the longest serving player at the club following the retirement of Mike Yardy.

Sussex coach Mark Robinson believes Wright – who moved to Hove from Leicestershire 11 years ago – is the perfect candidate to galvanise a team which dropped out of division one of the Championship for the first time since 2009 in agonising fashion on the final day of the season.

Robinson said: “We’re delighted that Luke has accepted the offer of captaincy. It comes at an important time for the club, as we look to rebuild and come back stronger for the 2016 season.

“Luke will bring a lot of experience from around the world, as well as passion, commitment and energy. He will have the full respect from everybody from within the club and the game.”