Mark Wood likely to miss first Pakistan Test: report
He is recovering from a hip injury
DUBAI: England pacer Mark Wood is likely to miss the first Test against Pakistan, which begins in Rawalpindi on December 1.
According to ESPNcricinfo, the England camp don’t feel that Wood is ready for the longest format of the game yet as he recovers from a hip injury.
“His [Wood] rehabilitation is said to be tracking well. However, with just three training days ahead of the start of the series on December 1, it seems unlikely he will be able to accrue the necessary number of overs at a high enough intensity to prepare himself for the rigours of a Test match,” the report stated.
It must be noted that Wood had returned to international cricket during the T20Is in Pakistan, before the T20 World Cup, after a long injury layoff which saw him miss the summer of 2022.
“Wood's absence from the Abu Dhabi leg of this winter, where the squad has been warming up alongside England Lions ahead of their first Test series in Pakistan for 17 years, is unrelated to his injury,” the report added.
However, England captain Ben Stokes stated on Friday that a replacement will not be called for Wood since they are still optimistic about the pacer recovering from injury.
“No, we're sticking with it," said Stokes. "We're not going to call up another seamer to this group.
"We took the decision to let Brooky [Harry Brook] and Woody [Mark Wood] spend that time at home, obviously being at Pakistan and the World Cup," the England captain added. "We felt a week at home for them would be more beneficial, just to get their batteries recharged, and obviously with Woody's injury, getting home and being around his wife and child would be better than being out here and getting all his rehab, which he could do at home.”
The England team will arrive in Pakistan on November 27 for the much-anticipated tour.
After the first match, the second Test moves to Multan starting on Friday, December 9, and the final Test of the tour will take place at the National Stadium in Karachi, commencing on Saturday, December 17.
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