England Announce Playing XI For 2nd Test vs WI; Mark Wood Replaces James Anderson
Mark Wood celebrating a wicket for England [X]
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced England’s playing XI for the upcoming second Test match against West Indies.
The selection committee and the team management only made one change to the English line-up that won at Lord’s last week by recalling Mark Wood in place of retired fast bowler James Anderson.
The Ben Stokes-led English team won the opening Test of the three-match series by an innings and 114 runs.
Mark Wood back in English XI for James Anderson
James Anderson announced his retirement from international cricket following England’s innings win over West Indies in the first Test match at Lord’s last week.
The English team is now set to usher its post-Anderson era with the return of Mark Wood into the playing XI.
Wood played the last of his 34 Tests for England back in March this year against India at Dharamsala.
The Durham fast bowler was dropped from the playing XI for the series-opener against West Indies in July, and was confirmed to return for the second Test on July 13 by the ECB.
On July 16, i.e., a couple of days prior to the launch of second England vs West Indies Test, the ECB unveiled England’s entire playing XI.
Featuring just one change from their victorious Lord’s line-up, here is a look at England’s confirmed playing XI for the second Test match:
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir.
With a 1-0 lead in the series, England will now face West Indies in the second Test at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.
The match will be staged between July 18 and July 22, and the series constitutes a part of the ongoing 2023-25 ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.