England endured the most chilling of starts to their Ashes warm-up with a potential injury to Mark Wood meaning the key fast bowler will start the second day of their solitary pre-series fixture in hospital rather than on the pitch.
Wood reported “stiffness in his hamstring” at the end of his second four-over spell against the Lions at Lilac Hill and will have a precautionary scan on Friday morning to assess the extent of any damage.
England’s plan had been for Wood to bowl eight overs across the opening day against the Lions, a number he reached in the hour after lunch. The 35-year-old immediately left the field and, though sources in the England camp initially put this down to thirst, when he failed to return after tea a more sobering update emerged.
This is Wood’s first game of any kind since England’s Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan in Lahore in February. He underwent surgery for medial ligament damage on his left knee – the same leg that is troubling him now – the following month.
Though he hoped to return in time to play at least the final Test against India in July – and he recently said that he “could have played at the back end of the season” – England decided to err on the side of caution so as not to jeopardise his participation in the Ashes. The question now is whether, even if the scan finds no significant injury, they should again take the cautious approach and leave him out of the opening Test, given that it starts in Perth next Friday.
Wood has been increasing his loads in training since the summer, having travelled to New Zealand nearly a month ago to start ramping up his Ashes preparations, and he has reported no problems in that time. England’s hopes now are that his scan is clear and that he is able to bowl again on Saturday, in line with their pre-match planning. They may be encouraged by Australia’s Josh Hazlew ood, who underwent a scan on his hamstring on Wednesday after reporting tightness while playing for New South Wales against Victoria in the Sheffield Shield, but after being given a clean bill of health will report for international duty as planned.
If there is any doubt over Wood’s fitness it would seem prudent to rest him until the second Test in Brisbane, which starts on 4 December, and there is no suggestion at present that a series-ending diagnosis is expected. Nevertheless, any confirmed injury would be a cruel blow not just for a player who has had to cope with so many during his career, but for an England regime that has put years of planning into nursing him to this point in full fitness.
England long ago identified high-pace bowling as their best route to success in this series, and with that in mind Wood was given a three-year deal when the ECB introduced long-term central contracts in 2023. They made it clear to him that the offer was made with the specific intention of managing his workloads ahead of the upcoming tilt at the Ashes. “The ECB had mentioned that, if I could keep up my standards and my pace, the Ashes away was the tour that they wanted me to get to,” Wood said at the time.
Brydon Carse was ruled out of the start of the Lions game through illness, having reported stomach problems on the morning of the game. He was replaced in the England XI by Josh Tongue but named in the Lions’ 13-man team and could still bowl on days two and three.
