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ToggleEngland has received a huge blow after their victory in the opening game of the three-match Test series against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford, Manchester, late in the fourth evening, as their premier pacer, Mark Wood, won’t be available for the rest of the series after suffering a thigh injury towards the end of the third day.
It was a memorable day for the England side, who achieved their fourth consecutive win at home in a Test summer for the very first time since 2013, as they gained a five-wicket win over the tourists, chasing a 205-run score, with their former captain, Joe Root, stood tall holding one end for his unbeaten knock of 62 runs, shouldering on just a couple of boundaries even in this Baseball era.
In the absence of Ben Stokes, their regular captain in the red-ball format, they decided to hand over the responsibility to young Ollie Pope, who struggled with the bat in both innings. As a team, they did well throughout the game, while the 64-run stand for the fifth wicket sealed the deal for the home side.
Josh Hull gets maiden Test squad call-up replacing Mark Wood
Mark Wood, who enjoyed a great time in the summer, especially in the three Tests against West Indies, where he fired up the opponents with his hostile spell of bowling, won’t be available for the England side for the rest of the series, and probably for the summers, as the management isn’t keen to risk their expressive Durham pacer.
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In his place, they have called the young Leicestershire pacer, Josh Hull, for the last two games in London. The 20-year-old left-arm medium pacer made his first-class debut last year at Headingley against Yorkshire and has bagged 15 wickets so far in the format at an average of 58.06 and a strike rate of over 12 overs, with a best of 3/30 in an innings.
The young pacer played a key role in the team’s victory in the Metro Bank One-day Club last season and impressed the selectors earlier this month on his England Lions debut, where he picked up five wickets in two innings at New Road to help the side collecting a memorable win over Sri Lanka’s tourists side in their only warm-up game.
The new pacer is currently in Bristol, being involved in the County Championship fixture with Gloucestershire, but won’t take part on the final day of the game, as the England squad are due to meet in London on Monday night ahead of their second game at Lord’s.
He is the only change in the 13-member squad for the national side. However, he is expected to wait a little, as Nottinghamshire’s pacer Olly Stone, who has been in the squad from the start, is likely to come in the eleven in place of Wood. The 30-year-old played his last Test three years ago, against New Zealand at Edgbaston.
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In only three five-day games, he has picked up ten wickets at an average of under 20 and a strike rate of around six overs with a best of 3/29 in an innings. He will look to make a mark as their eyes will be on the upcoming Ashes trip towards the end of the next year.
Mark Wood is expected to go through a few more scans after the initial results revealed the muscle strain in his right thigh. He will look to get prepared before their winter tour to Pakistan and New Zealand. The second Test of the Sri Lanka series begins on August 29.
England squad for the final 2-Tests vs Sri Lanka
Ollie Pope (captain), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Josh Hull, Dan Lawrence, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.