Jimmy Anderson was finding the edge repeatedly at Trent Bridge on Tuesday although the man holding the bat was very much hoping this would be the case. It was Anderson’s first training session in his new post-retirement role as England’s bowling mentor and he started out by helping head coach Brendon McCullum drill the slips cordon.
In this first week post-Anderson it is Mark Wood who is the chief beneficiary as regards selection. The fast bowler was parachuted into the squad over the weekend and, after an initial net session that was forced indoors by rain, was then named in the England XI to play the second Test against West Indies that starts on Thursday.
It represents something of a statement selection. The assumption was that Dillon Pennington, the strapping Nottinghamshire seamer, would set up to make a debut on his home ground and share the new ball with Chris Woakes. Instead, the return of Wood after featuring in the T20 World Cup makes it two outright quicks in the England attack with Gus Atkinson, 12 wickets on debut at Lord’s last week, the other.
Quick GuideEngland team
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1. Zak Crawley 2. Ben Duckett 3. Ollie Pope 4. Joe Root 5. Harry Brook 6. Ben Stokes (capt) 7. Jamie Smith 8. Chris Woakes 9. Gus Atkinson 10. Mark Wood 11. Shoaib Bashir
England are unashamedly looking to build towards the 2025/26 Ashes in Australia and pace is among the qualities they are craving. Aiding this is Ben Stokes who, after two spells of 10 and eight overs during the mismatch at Lord’s, is clearly back to fully-fledged all-rounder status and thus allows the quicker men to operate in shorter bursts.
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More to follow …