After narrowly dropping the Ashes 2023 opener, England head coach Brendon McCullum advised a big change in bowling to their playing eleven for the second Test match. The former Kiwi captain revealed that the speedster Mark Wood is in competition for the second match which is able to kick off at Lord’s on June 28.
Mark Wood, 33, has spectacular numbers in Test cricket with 90 wickets in simply 28 matches. But the right-arm pacer has struggled to discover a common place in England’s red-ball staff due to constant accidents. His appearances are additionally restricted due to the variety of high quality tempo choices obtainable for the Ben Stokes-led staff.
James Anderson, Stuart Broad, and Ollie Robinson performed as specialist pacers within the first Test match at Edgbaston. But the trio failed to make a substantial influence towards Australia’s in-form batters. Anderson was ready to choose just one wicket and was restricted to simply 17 overs within the second innings.
Apart from Wood, England have Chris Woakes, Josh Tongue, and Matthew Potts obtainable on the bench. But McCullum advised that Wood presents an actual level of distinction and can come into consideration for choice for the second Test.
“Woody’s a great bowler. He offers a real point of difference and he’ll always come into consideration for selection – especially on wickets that need a little bit more pace. That’s the beauty of having a good squad: we’ve got guys to pick from,” McCullum mentioned as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
McCullum additionally performed down the talks of Ollie Robinson’s controversial spat with Usman Khawaja on Day 3 on the Edgbaston. The Kiwi legend mentioned that it was a traditional response from Robinson as these sorts of incidents happen in aggressive matches.
“I think it happens in all international cricket. It’s two competitive teams going at it and desperate to try and get a performance for their countries,” McCullum added.
