Mark Wood has been rested from the final test at Sharjah as a part of the management of his chronicle ankle problem.
England is trailing 0-1 in the three-match Test series. He produced the most impressive test in Dubai taking five wickets with good quality pace bowling including 3 for 39 in the first innings. Wood was left out of the third test against Australia at Edgbaston earlier due to similar concerns over the ankle but the decision to leave him out has been taken well ahead of the start and could be a nod to the greater player rotation in Tests.
Wood has previously admitted that he may need surgery on his ankle at some point of time but England packed schedule would mean that him missing a considerable amount of cricket.
Wood’s absence mean that England are likely to make at least two changes for the final Test as they aim to level the series. Jonny Bairstow looks certain to replace Jos Buttler behind the stumps after he spent England training session on Friday with the gloves. There are other few routes to replace Wood. The most logical one would be to bring Liam Plunkett as a hit to the deck fast bowler even though Sharjah pitch is expected to be an unresponsive pitch. They may bring Samit Patel who played his previous test match on 2012-13 England tour of India as another spin bowler all-rounder on a surface which is expected to turn.
Losing Wood is a big shame as he showed how vital reverse swing is in these conditions and also extra pace can hurry the batsmen!