Rather than assuming responsibility for selection himself, Wright will instead join panels comprising the relevant captain and coach, England's performance director (Mo Bobat) and player ID lead (David Court) and Key himself, who retains his involvement having initially planned to step back.

There was a telling moment in January this year when Wright was working as a studio pundit for BT Sport on England's T20I series against West Indies. There were several members of the home squad with limited international experience, about whom most English broadcasters would struggle to offer much insight. Not Wright: only two months previously, he had played alongside Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein and Dominic Drakes at the Abu Dhabi T10 and was perfectly placed to discuss their strengths.

Wright has spent the last three years in a number of different roles preparing for his post-playing career: he has worked as a batting coach at Melbourne Stars, a support coach for New Zealand and is leaving his role as Auckland's performance and talent coach at the end of March; earlier this year, he graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with a masters in sport directorship. It has been the ideal apprenticeship.

He will not join the ECB until the start of the 2023 season and the stakes will be high from the outset: within his first six months in the role, he will be involved in selection for a home Ashes series and the 50-over World Cup in India, where England will look to defend their title.

In practice, communication may become Wright's most important skill. He is only one member of a selection panel but may well become its public face, explaining decisions to players behind closed doors and then to the media. It is an occupational hazard of the job that he will not always be popular and he will need to develop a thick skin.

Ultimately, he will be judged on his decisions. Both of England's men's white-ball teams are reigning world champions, and the Test side head to Pakistan with six wins from their last seven. Wright's remit is simple: to help turn a high watermark into a period of sustained dominance.