The fast bowler is currently in the United Kingdom and unlikely to be risked with the series beginning on December 1 England fast bowler Mark Wood is a doubt for the first Test against Pakistan due to a hip injury suffered at the World Cup.
Wood has been recuperating in the UK from a hip injury he suffered during England’s successful T20 World Cup campaign. This weekend, he will join the Test team in Rawalpindi.
The 32-year-old was considered fit to play in the final against Pakistan before it was decided not to take a risk with selection for such a high-profile match, despite the injury keeping him out of the semi-final against India.
It is said that his rehabilitation is going well. He appears unlikely, however, to be able to accumulate the necessary number of overs at a high enough intensity to prepare himself for the rigors of a Test match with just three training days remaining before the series begins on December 1.
After missing the summer of 2022, Wood returned to international duty during the T20Is in Pakistan. In his two appearances in the seven-match series, he took six wickets at an average of 7.33 and demonstrated how important his pace was as a difference maker.
He continued that trend into the World Cup, taking nine wickets at 12.00 in four matches, bowling the fastest spells, and even taking home the tournament’s fastest delivery, a full delivery to Glenn Phillips of New Zealand at 154.74 kph.
Wood’s absence from this winter’s trip to Abu Dhabi, where the England Lions have been warming up for 17 years in preparation for their first Test series in Pakistan, is unrelated to his injury. Because they were the only two players in all three first-team squads (Pakistan T20Is, World Cup, Pakistan Tests) before the end of the year, he and Yorkshire batsman Harry Brook were given two weeks to rest at home after the World Cup.
Ben Stokes, England captain, expressed optimism regarding Wood’s fitness in a Friday interview following the final day of England’s warm-up match, which was replaced by a two-hour training session. He also stated that the team would not include any backup players.
Stokes responded, “No, we’re sticking with it.”We won’t add another seamstress to this group.
According to Stokes, “We took the decision to let Brooky and Woody spend that time at home, obviously being at Pakistan and the World Cup.
“We thought they would benefit more from spending a week at home, just to recharge their batteries.
Given Woody’s injury, it makes sense that spending time at home with his family would be preferable to spending time here doing all of his rehab, which he could do at home.
This week, Liam Livingstone has been dealing with an injured ankle. However, Stokes was pleased to report that he was in good health after completing eight bowling overs on the field on Thursday and getting a few more outs in the middle during the breaks.
“For the first time in a long time, there haven’t been any injuries in the group, which is fantastic.A few of our Test tour players were here with the Lions a few weeks before we met.
The message at the beginning of the camp was to build up toward two days before that Test and still have something left in the tank to get going because you don’t want to burn yourself out now and almost be ready a week too early.
It’s all about peaking at the right time.”