On Thursday, November 13, Mark Wood, the England fast bowler, sustained left hamstring stiffness during day one of the intra-squad warm-up match ahead of the Ashes series against Australia down under.
At the Lilac Hall Park in Perth, the 35-year-old, who recovered from a left knee injury recently, bowled eight overs during the first day of the contest before leaving the field midway through the second session before England management announced he would undergo a precautionary scan tomorrow.
Notably, after completing two four-over spells, Mark Wood conceded 29 runs including a maiden while not picking up a wicket for England XI against England Lions, who scored 382 runs in 79.3 overs before stumps were called on day one. Five of the England Lions batters went past fifties including Ben McKinney, Jordan Cox, Thomas Rew, Matthew Potts, and Will Jacks, with the latter top-scoring (84 off 85), an innings which included eight fours and three sixes.
The plan for Mark Wood was for him to bowl eight overs today: ECB
The statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) about the fitness of their star pacer, who was playing in his first competitive match after undergoing surgery around nine months ago, read, “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,” added the ECB, who are taking it slow in regards to getting Mark Wood game ready for the Ashes series, starting on November 21 at the Optus Stadium in Perth. In the last edition of the Ashes down under, the veteran played four matches, picking up 17 wickets at an average of 26.64 with best figures of 6/37 at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart in the fifth and final Test.
Moreover, England management also suffered a bit of a setback on the morning of the first day of their intra-squad match with fast bowler Brydon Carse becoming unavailable due to illness and staying at the team hotel instead.
