PAK vs ENG: Mark Wood Ruled Out of the First Test Against Pakistan
PAK vs ENG: Brendon McCullum has confirmed that pacer Mark Wood will miss the first match of the series against Pakistan.
PAK vs ENG: In what comes as a huge blow for England ahead of the first Test in Rawalpindi, their star pacer Mark Wood has been ruled out of the series opener against Pakistan due to a hip injury that is sustained at the T20 World Cup.
The express pacer Mark Wood earlier missed the semi-final and final against India and Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia and was given a rest from last week’s training camp in Abu Dhabi.
England’s Test team head coach Brendon McCullum confirmed on Monday (November 28) that Wood will not take part in the Rawalpindi Test.
“Mark’s not going to make the first Test squad unfortunately because of his injury,” McCullum said.
“We expect him to be ready for the second Test and otherwise we’ve got a full squad to pick from,” he added.
The English speedster returned to international cricket in Pakistan during the 7-match T20I series after a long injury layoff, which saw him missing the entire 2022 summer. He played two matches against Pakistan, where he scalped six wickets in two innings at an economy of 5.50.
Wood was amongst one of the best performers with the ball in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. He bagged nine wickets in four innings at an economy of 7.71 and a strike rate of 12.00. The fastest delivery of the tournament was also bowled by the English pacer – 154.74kph to New Zealand batter Glenn Phillips.
PAK vs ENG: England tour of Pakistan 2022 Test Series Squads
Pakistan Squad: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shan Masood, Saud Shakeel, Salman Agha, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Abrar Ahmed, Zahid Mahmood, Mohammad Nawaz, Azhar Ali, Mohammad Ali.
England Squad: Ben Stokes (c), James Anderson, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes (wk), Will Jacks, Keaton Jennings, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood, Rehan Ahmed
