Chris Wright signed a two-year deal last August to play for Essex up until the end of the 2009 season.

The fast-medium bowler’s contract with Middlesex was due to expire at the end of the 2007 campaign so was given permission to talk to other counties mid-way through the summer.

Wright made his first-team debut for Middlesex in 2004 and played in 18 first-class matches for the county, taking 23 wickets and scoring 444 runs. The Oxfordshire-born cricketer ended his Middlesex career in style with 3-29 in their NatWest Pro40 play-off against Northamptonshire to help the side to promotion.