Mark Wood is now a doubt for the opening Ashes Test after injuring his hamstring during England’s in-house warm-up match against the England Lions in Perth.
Wood had been out of action for nine months after undergoing knee surgery but returned to face the Flintoff-led Lions at Lilac Hill, bowling four overs in the morning session on the opening day and a further four in the afternoon.
However, he was forced to leave the field before tea after experiencing hamstring discomfort during that second spell and now faces a scan to see the extent of the damage.
A spokesperson for the England and Wales Cricket Board said: “The plan for Mark Wood was for him to bowl eight overs today.
“He has some stiffness in his hamstring, which has kept him off the field for some time during the second session of the first day and will undergo a precautionary scan tomorrow.
“He is expected to bowl again in two days’ time. It is unlikely he will return to the field today.”
Wood’s express pace will be crucial as England try to win the Ashes Down Under for the first time since 2010-11, having not won a series against Australia anywhere since 2015.
However, the 35-year-old seamer has faced a litany of injury issues over the years and there are questions whether his body can still stand up to the rigours of Test cricket, especially a five-match series.
Earlier in the week, Wood had shrugged off an onslaught of negative coverage surrounding England in the Australian media, as they labelled the Bazball approach to Test cricket “dopey” and aimed a series of front-page headlines at captain Ben Stokes.
“I think that’s all part of it. I haven’t taken much notice of newspapers and things,” insisted Wood. “But the reception we’ve had in general from Australians have been great, throughout the hotel and around Perth everyone’s been very friendly and everyone’s excited for the series. I think it’s a big build up.
“There’s a lot of English coming. I think the Barmy Army will be in full voice and right behind us.
“The Australian side, they’re very hard to beat in their own conditions. They’ve shown that for a number of years, we haven’t managed to win many games here at all. I think that first game’s a huge game
“As any bowling group knows that first couple of wickets is vitally important. If we can get off to a good start then we can try and put some pressure on. Australia are obviously the favourites going into the series but I think there’s a quiet confidence within our group that we can do well here.”
In good news for England, skipper Stokes seemingly announced his readiness for the Ashes with four wickets on the opening day of the warm-up clash.
Stokes, who has not played since July when he tore a shoulder muscle against India, took two wickets in each of the first two sessions – claiming 4-45 in 12 overs as the Lions reached 208-5 at tea.
The 34-year-old dismissed Tom Haines, Jacob Bethell, Jordan Cox and Rehan Ahmed in a pair of robust spells, while Josh Tongue was the only other bowler to take a wicket – getting Durham opener Ben McKinney to nick behind after making 67.
Fellow quicks Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson joined Stokes, Wood and Tongue in the England attack, although they failed to make a breakthrough in the first two sessions.
Additional reporting by PA
