Mark Wood will link up with England during the one-day leg of the tour of South Africa as he steps up his recovery from ankle surgery.
The 26-year-old fast bowler broke into all three England teams last summer, claiming the wicket that saw the Ashes regained, but was hampered by chronic pain in his left ankle all year which required an operation at the end of November.
Wood, who has returned to running and been working at the national academy in Loughborough recently, will fly out to South Africa this weekend to train alongside the young fast bowlers in the Potential England Performance Programme at Potchefstroom.
After a fortnight at the university facility under the watch of the lead fast bowling coach, Kevin Shine, Wood and the PEPP group will travel to Johannesburg to join the senior side for their one-day series preparations.
The Durham seamer has reported no ill-effects following his surgery but will know if it has been 100% successful only when he resumes bowling properly. A target for his return to cricket will be decided after that.
The PEPP, which includes Tom Helm of Middlesex, Derbyshire’s Tom Taylor and the Nottinghamshire and Essex pair Luke Wood and Jamie Porter, have been working together at Loughborough for the first time since the death of the Sussex seamer Matt Hobden at the start of the year.
Hobden was due to be part of this group of future England cricketers and, while the remaining four young quicks were given the option to delay the resumption of their winter camp, they opted to start on time.
As well as Durham’s Wood, who earned an England central contract last September, the group will be joined in South Africa by the Sussex left-armer Tymal Mills and Olly Stone of Northamptonshire. Both are working on their fitness following back injuries last year.
