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Ahead of the second Ashes Test against Australia, England head coach Brendon McCullum has dropped a big hint at the inclusion of Mark Wood in the England's final XI. McCullum has confirmed that Wood will come into contention for selection for the second Test which will be played at the Lord's from June 28. With veteran James Anderson struggling to find rhythm in the Ashes 2023 opener, Mark Wood, who missed the first Test, can add a different dimension to English bowling line-up.
"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 said as quoted by ESPNCricinfo. Notably, Wood played for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the recently-concluded IPL 2023.
McCulllum also said that the heated equation between Ollie Robinson and Usman Khawaja which stirred up in the first Test, will only further throughout the series.
"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. So you're always going to get a little bit of a boil-over of emotions. I don't think it crossed the line, from what the match referees were saying: they were pretty content with it, as far as I'm aware. But I'm sure it'll be a hotly contested series right throughout and it won't be the last time we're probably talking about it," McCullum added.
Australia pulled off a thrilling two-wicket victory over England in the Ashes 2023 series opener at Edgbaston on Tuesday (June 20) which gave them a 1-0 lead in the five-match encounter. England first made a bold move and declared their first innings at the score of 393/8. Australia in reply notched 386 on the board. With a lead of seven runs, England kicked off their second innings with an intent to pile a huge target for Australia but their ‘Bazball’ approach fell flat as they could only post a target of 281 for Australia to chase. Australia began a rain-delayed Day 5 on 107/3, however, Australia's chances of winning the match depreciated as things went ahead which saw the WTC 2023 champions get reduced to 227/8. But Australia captain Cummins and Nathan Lyon, launched a fightback and sealed victory on Tuesday with an unbeaten 44. The dazzling duo stitched a match-winning partnership of 55 runs off 72 balls for the ninth-wicket with Cummins and Lyon chipping in with 44 off 73 and 16 off 28 respectively.
McCullum also hinted that England will be more aggressive than at Edgbaston.
"I thought it was a cracking Test match and two very different styles of play. But like a heavyweight boxing match, not everyone has to fight the same. I thought it was a great Test match and I'm sure everyone that watched all around the world, and everyone who was here at Edgbaston as well, absolutely loved it - and that's us included," said the England coach.
"Both teams have got a little bit of time to digest what's unfolded over the last five days and maybe slightly tweak a couple of things along the way. But I'd expect that they'd carry on doing the same sort of playing [style] that they executed here, and we'll be doing the same," McCullum concluded.
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