Mark Wood is now a doubt for the opening Ashes Test after injuring his hamstring during England’s in-house warm-up match against the England Lions in Perth.
Wood had been out of action for nine months after undergoing knee surgery but returned to face the Flintoff-led Lions at Lilac Hill, bowling four overs in the morning session on the opening day and a further four in the afternoon.
However, he was forced to leave the field before tea after experiencing hamstring discomfort during that second spell and now faces a scan to see the extent of the damage.
A spokesperson for the England and Wales Cricket Board said: “The plan for Mark Wood was for him to bowl eight overs today.
“He has some stiffness in his hamstring, which has kept him off the field for some time during the second session of the first day and will undergo a precautionary scan tomorrow. He is expected to bowl again in two days’ time.”
Vice-captain Harry Brook added at the close of play: “It’s not ideal, but it’s part of being an extremely fast bowler. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
Wood’s express pace will be crucial as England try to win the Ashes Down Under for the first time since 2010-11, having not won a series against Australia anywhere since 2015.
However, the 35-year-old seamer has faced a litany of injury issues over the years and there are questions whether his body can still stand up to the rigours of Test cricket, especially a five-match series.
Wood has been training with heavy strapping on his leg and while England were optimistic about his recovery, captain Ben Stokes offered what now appear to be prophetic words when asked about the prospect of pairing Wood and Jofra Archer on the eve of the match.
“It’s nine days until the first Test starts, that’s a lot of time for things to fall into place or for something to happen,” he said.
Earlier in the week, Wood had shrugged off an onslaught of negative coverage surrounding England in the Australian media, as they labelled the Bazball approach to Test cricket “dopey” and aimed a series of front-page headlines at captain Ben Stokes.
“I think that’s all part of it. I haven’t taken much notice of newspapers and things,” insisted Wood. “But the reception we’ve had in general from Australians have been great, throughout the hotel and around Perth everyone’s been very friendly and everyone’s excited for the series. I think it’s a big build up.
“There’s a lot of English coming. I think the Barmy Army will be in full voice and right behind us.
“The Australian side, they’re very hard to beat in their own conditions. They’ve shown that for a number of years, we haven’t managed to win many games here at all. I think that first game’s a huge game
“As any bowling group knows that first couple of wickets is vitally important. If we can get off to a good start then we can try and put some pressure on. Australia are obviously the favourites going into the series but I think there’s a quiet confidence within our group that we can do well here.”
In good news for England, skipper Stokes seemingly announced his readiness for the Ashes with six wickets on the opening day of the warm-up clash.
Stokes, who has not played since July when he tore a shoulder muscle against India, took two wickets in each of the three sessions – claiming 6-52 in 16 overs with a steady diet of short-pitched bowling as the Lions were all out for 382 in the closing moments of the day.
The 34-year-old dismissed Tom Haines and Test hopeful Jacob Bethell in the morning session, added Jordan Cox and Rehan Ahmed with bumpers in the afternoon and returned in the evening to remove Tom Lawes and Will Jacks.
“He’s a proper player isn’t he?” Brook said of Stokes. “It’s good to have him back in the side and leading from the front. We obviously haven’t spent much time together in recent times so it was nice for the lads to get out there and get a few overs in.”
Bethell faltered in his attempt to try and take the Test No 3 spot away from Ollie Pope, as an unconvincing knock of two off 17 deliveries ended when he turned Stokes to square-leg.
On a gentle pitch offering bounce but no real menace there were half-centuries for Ben McKinney (67), Cox (53), Thomas Rew (55), Jacks (84) and tailender Matthew Potts (53). There was one wicket apiece for quick trio Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue, who owed his chance to Brydon Carse’s illness.
Additional reporting by PA
