New Delhi: The England cricket team has added speedster Mark Wood to their squad for the second Test against West Indies which starts on Thursday, July 18 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Wood will replace James Anderson in the squad who hung his boots from international cricket following England’s victory at Lord’s in the series opener.
Wood’s last Test appearance came in March this year when the England side toured India and the pacer was not considered for the Lord’s Test having only recently returned from his duty at the T20 World Cup 2024. Rob Key, the managing director of the England men’s team reasoned stating there needs to be some time given to the player for making a shift in the formats.
“Once you come out of T20 cricket, then you’re going into Test cricket very quickly… there’s a period there where you can’t just throw someone into a Test match,” Key said when the squad was announced.
Welcome to the squad, Woody 🤝
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 13, 2024
Pacemen in England squad
Gus Atkinson, who was handed a Test debut at the Lord’s, picked up 12 wickets for 106 and inducted himself at the iconic stadium as well for picking up the fourth best figures on Test debut in history. He rattled the West Indies batting lineup with a seven-wicket haul in the first innings which was followed by a five-for in the second.
Apart from Anderson and Atkinson, Chris Woakes was another option for skipper Ben Stokes in the eleven at the Lord’s. Even Stokes proved his bowling mettle by bowling 18 overs across the two innings. Matthew Potts and the uncapped Dillon Pennington are the other seam options in the squad. Rookie spinner Shoaib Bashir was also part of the eleven but did not get a single over to bowl.
England squad for second Test:
Ben Stokes (c), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Dillon Pennington, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
As James Anderson bid adieu to international cricket with a win in his final Test, paceman Mark Wood has been added to England’s squad which will take on West Indies in the second Test scheduled at the Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
