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ENGLAND have recalled pace bowler Mark Wood to their XI for the second Test against West Indies at Trent Bridge, starting on Thursday.
Wood takes the place of the retired James Anderson, who ended his record-breaking career following the huge win in the first Test at Lord’s.
Wood missed the first Test after being part of the England squad for the T20 World Cup in June.
The 34-year-old has taken 108 wickets in 34 Tests and will form a pacey pairing alongside Gus Atkinson, with Chris Woakes the other specialist seamer.
England XI for second Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt) Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir.
Matthew Potts and the uncapped Dillon Pennington again sit out, having being part of the squad for the first Test at Lord’s. In Pennington’s case, the Nottinghamshire bowler misses the chance to make a Test debut on his home ground.
England, 1-0 up, can win the series at Trent Bridge and thus earn their first Test series win since the tour of Pakistan in 2022.
There are likely to be further changes to the pace-bowling attack for the third Test at Edgbaston next week, given the congested nature of the series.
Woakes, 35, wins his 50th cap and assumes the role of attack leader now Anderson has followed long-term new-ball partner Stuart Broad into retirement.
Indeed, this will be England’s first home Test without at least one of Anderson or Broad in their side since 2012.
Surrey’s Atkinson, 26, took match figures of 12-106 at Lord’s, the fourth-best by a bowler on Test debut in the history of the game.
West Indies are waiting on the fitness of pace bowler Shamar Joseph after he struggled with a left hamstring injury at Lord’s.
The 24-year-old bowled in the nets at Trent Bridge on Tuesday and is not thought to be a doubt at this stage.
BBCSport
A.I
July 17, 2024 @ 07:02 GMT
Tags: Ben Duckett Ben Stokes (capt) Jamie Smith (wk) Chris Woakes Gus Atkinson Harry Brook Joe Root Mark Wood Ollie Pope Shoaib Bashir.
