Mark Wood returns to England Test attack in place of retired James Anderson
Written by I Dig Sports
Published in
Cricket
Tuesday, 16 July 2024 08:48
Mark Wood has been recalled to England's attack in place of the retired James Anderson as the only change to their XI for the second Test against West Indies at Trent Bridge, which begins on Thursday.
Wood, England's fastest bowler, was not available for the Lord's Test, having only just returned to the country after the completion of England's T20 World Cup campaign in the Caribbean, in which he claimed three wickets in five appearances. He has not yet played a first-class match for Durham this season.
However, Wood was added to the squad in the wake of England's innings-and-114-run victory in the first Test at Lord's, and will slot back into the XI, having featured in three of England's five Tests in India earlier this year.
This will be the first time that England have played a home Test without either Anderson or Stuart Broad in their XI since 2012, and only the second since 2007. Anderson spent Tuesday at Trent Bridge in his new role as England's bowling coach, following his farewell appearance at Lord's.
Wood's inclusion means that Matthew Potts and Dillon Pennington will have to wait for their opportunities, having been original inclusions in England's squad for the first two Tests, as named by the selectors last month.
Potts, who impressed with 23 wickets in his first six Tests in 2022 and 2023, has not featured for England since the Ireland Test at Lord's last June, while Pennington is yet to make his Test debut.
The selection of Wood follows the success enjoyed by another 90mph seamer, Gus Atkinson, who claimed match figures of 12 for 106, the fourth-best by a debutant in Test history, in last week's win at Lord's.
Shoaib Bashir, England's offspinner, did not bowl in the Lord's Test, his first home appearance for his country, but retains his place at Nottingham.
England XI: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Gus Atkinson, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Shoaib Bashir
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