Mark Wood is back in England’s team for the second match against the West Indies at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Wood replaced the famous James Anderson, who retired after England’s big win in the first match at Lord’s Cricket Ground.
England had choices like Matthew Potts and Dillon Pennington, but they chose the experienced Wood, who last played a Test in March against India at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala. In 34 Test matches, Wood has taken 108 wickets and has four times where he took five wickets in a single innings.
Earlier, Rob Key, who is in charge of the English men’s cricket teams, mentioned that they wanted to allow time for Wood after he participated in the T20 World Cup in 2024. He also mentioned the possibility of including Wood in the team starting from the second Test.
Key explained, “After playing T20 cricket, you quickly move to Test cricket… there’s a time when you can’t just put someone straight into a Test match.”
He further stated, “Rest might not be the correct word, but we plan to have him ready for selection in the second and third Tests, hopefully.”
Wood is part of a strong English fast bowling group that includes Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson. Atkinson is particularly noteworthy, as he took 12 wickets in his first Test match, including a remarkable 7 wickets in the first innings.
After winning the first match at Lord’s and leading the series 1-0, Ben Stokes and his team aim to secure the series victory in the second Test, which begins on Thursday, July 18.
England Playing XI for Nottingham Test
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir
