ENG vs WI: England add Mark Wood as James Anderson replacement for Nottingham Test | Cricket News

While James Anderson bid farewell to international cricket with a win in his final Test, paceman Mark Wood has been added to the England squad that will face West Indies in the second Test scheduled at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

Mark Wood will replace the retired James Anderson in England’s squad for the second Test against the West Indies. (Photo – Getty Images)

New Delhi: The England cricket team has added speedster Mark Wood to its squad for the second Test against the West Indies, which begins on Thursday, July 18, at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Wood will replace James Anderson in the squad who hung up his boots from international cricket following England’s series-opening win at Lord’s.

Wood’s last Test appearance came in March this year when England toured India, and the pacer was not considered for the Lord’s Test, having recently returned from his participation in the 2024 T20 World Cup. Rob Key, the managing director of the England men’s team, argued that the player needs to be given some time to make a change in formats.

“Once you get out of T20 cricket you get into Test cricket very quickly… there is a period where you can’t just put someone in a Test match,” Key said when the squad was announced.

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Welcome to the squad, Woody 🤝

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 13, 2024

Pacemen in the England squad

Gus Atkinson, who was given a Test debut at Lord’s, picked up 12 wickets for 106 and introduced himself to the iconic stadium also by taking the fourth-best figures on Test debut in history. He shook up the West Indies batting line-up with a seven-wicket haul in the first innings, which was followed by five in the second.

Apart from Anderson and Atkinson, Chris Woakes was another option for captain Ben Stokes in the eleven at Lord’s. Even Stokes proved his bowling mettle by bowling 18 overs in two innings. Matthew Potts and the uncapped Dillon Pennington are the other seam options in the team. Rookie spinner Shoaib Bashir was also part of the eleven but he did not get a single over to bowl.

England squad for the second test:

Ben Stokes (c), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Dillon Pennington, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.