Mark Wood is in line to earn his first call-up of the summer as part of an England one-day squad that could also feature the rising Northamptonshire batsman Ben Duckett. Wood, the 26-year-old fast bowler, enjoyed a breakthrough international summer in 2015 as part of the Test side that regained the Ashes but has not featured since his involvement in the tour of the United Arab Emirates last year was cut short by a longstanding ankle issue.
Two operations during the winter meant the first half of his season was wiped out. But Wood has been bowling since the start of last month and the England management are considering whether to bring him back into the fold for the five-match one-day series with Pakistan that begins in Southampton on 24 August, before the one-off Twenty20 at Old Trafford on 7 September.
The head coach, Trevor Bayliss, is keen to inject pace into his seam attack and reports of Wood’s involvement in the Lions tri-series against the A teams of Sri Lanka and Pakistan – when he claimed eight wickets in three 50-over games – have been positive. In Durham’s T20 Blast quarter-final win over Gloucestershire he was clocked at more than 90mph.
Duckett has also made a case for selection via the Lions route with unbeaten scores of 163 and 220 – the latter from 131 balls in an unbroken stand of 367 with Kent’s Daniel Bell-Drummond against Sri Lanka A – in a series in which four England batsmen posted scores of 150-plus. The left-hander is a key part of the Northamptonshire side that will play in next Saturday’s T20 Blast Finals Day at Edgbaston and has earned a place in next year’s North v South series in the UAE as one of the eight best players in the PCA rankings.
His former team-mate David Willey earned his first England call-up while playing for a so-called unfashionable county before moving on to Yorkshire last winter, but the 21-year-old does not believe the selectors, who are expected to name their squad on Tuesday, have a big-club bias.
“People always say ‘can you play for England at Northants?’ and I say 100% yes,” said Duckett, whose golden summer began with an unbeaten 282 against Sussex in the County Championship. “We have got to three Finals Days in four years and that’s how you get selected, playing on the biggest stage.
“They are picking guys who are doing it for their counties, where the norm is to score 200 in a Twenty20 or 400 or 350 in a 50-over match. Guys like Jason Roy and Alex Hales are playing with that freedom and so people getting 150-plus scores in Lions games is because that is the standard that has been set.
“If I got the call I would definitely be confident and play the way I have been playing. Had I been asked at the start of the summer, I’m not sure I would have believed that but what happened for the Lions, especially against Pakistan where they play a lot of spinners, I feel I would definitely be ready.”
With England’s one-day batting order relatively settled, Duckett’s chance may hinge on whether Joe Root – who has made the most appearances across the three formats in the past two years – is afforded a rest before the winter touring schedule, or if further batting cover should be required given the injury doubts over Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes.
Morgan, the one-day and Twenty20 captain, has not played for Middlesex since breaking a finger against Somerset at the end of last month while Buttler has been out of action since 8 July with a broken thumb. England are confident both will return in time while Stokes, on the mend after a torn calf muscle, is desperate to feature at the back end of a summer largely ruined by injury.
A spot could also open up for Duckett if James Vince, who has struggled during his first summer of Test cricket, is sent back to play championship cricket for Hampshire with an eye on retaining him for the winter tours to Bangladesh and India. Vince’s county team-mate, Liam Dawson, may feature should his fellow spin-bowling all-rounder, Moeen Ali, be given a break.
