England’s Ashes campaign has copped a brutal blow ahead of the opening test with fast bowler Mark Wood sent for scans on his hamstring.
The 35-year-old left the field on Thursday after bowling only eight overs after experiencing tightness, according to Code Sports.
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With the first Test a little over a week away, the timing of the injury is less than ideal however England downplayed the seriousness of it.
“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,” an ECB spokesman said on Thursday.
“He is expected to bowl again in two days’ time. It is unlikely he will return to the field today.”
The news of Wood being sent for scans comes after England captain Ben Stokes remained tight-lipped on selection and fitness levels of star players within the squad.
He offered one-word responses to queries into his own fitness before playing an un-BazBall like straight bat to questions about Wood and Jofra Archer.
“Good,” Stokes said when asked how his body was feeling.
“Yep,” he added, when pressed on whether his body was feeling good enough to get sustained overs in.
Wood turned the 2023 series in England’s favour while Archer had a brilliant battle with Steve Smith without dismissing the Australian champion in 2019.
Stokes said both were “flying” in training but refused to reveal whether they would play together in Perth or be on managed loads.
“It would be exciting, wouldn’t it?” Stokes said.
“It’s nine days until that first Test match, so there’s a lot of time for stuff to fall into place or something to happen.
“At the moment, from a fast bowling point of view, the guys who we’ve picked are all in a really good place.”
The opening Test of the Ashes series commences on November 21 from Perth Stadium.
