Wood returns to Test squad as Stone’s replacement

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Wood last played Test cricket for England in the first match of last summer against Pakistan at Lord's. © Getty

England fast-bowler Mark Wood has been called-up to replace the injured Olly Stone for the remainder of the West Indies Test tour. Stone was ruled out of the three-match series with a stress fracture of the lower back and will return home in due course.

Wood last played Test cricket for England in the first match of last summer against Pakistan at Lord’s. Following England’s heavy defeat, and his lack of wickets, he was subsequently dropped for the next match and was not seen in red-ball cricket again. Stone’s call-up for the tour of Sri Lanka before Christmas and the Caribbean tour had pushed Wood further down the pecking order. The 29 year-old does appear, however, to have moved ahead of Somerset’s Jamie Overton, a bowler who, like Stone, can generate serious pace.

It was thought that for the Sri Lanka tour it came down to a choice between Stone and Overton and it is a surprise therefore that Wood has been called-up instead of the Somerset man. Known as a bowler capable of hitting in excess of 90mph himself, Wood’s speeds have generally been down over the past year but he feels a longer run-up, which he worked on with the England Lions in the UAE late last year, is starting to prove dividends in that regard. His ability to reverse-swing the ball may also have worked in his favour particularly for the slower and lower pitches of the last two venues of Antigua and St Lucia.

With Wood expected to arrive in the Caribbean over the weekend, he will almost certainly not be considered for the first Test in Barbados, which begins on Wednesday (January 23), with Sam Curran likely to get the third fast-bowler’s spot. He may come into contention for the second and third matches but even then, he will have no match practice behind him which might prove to be a gamble too far for England.

If he does play, Wood will want to improve on his Test record which currently stands at 30 wickets at 41.73 from 12 matches. Injuries have dogged him since his debut in the 2015 Ashes series and he would have every right to feel aggrieved at some of the selection decisions he has been on the end of but neither has he performed to the level he is capable of in red-ball cricket. He has another opportunity to show what he can do.