Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes that the hosts will miss the services of Mark Wood more than Ben Stokes in the second Test of the three-Test series at Lord's, London. According to Vaughan, Wood is the most important member of the English team right now. Wood is doubtful for the second Test after sustaining a thigh injury.
"Mark Wood is the key, look at all the England side, even Ben Stokes now. Ben Stokes is a talisman, an incredible cricketer, England miss but they will miss Wood even more because there is no one who can bowl 95 miles an hour," he said on BBC Test Match Special.
"Mark Wood is becoming quite quickly the most important member of this team because he brings something that they haven't got anyone that can bring. Even Jofra Archer can't bowl this pace. He (Wood) is bowling 95 to 97 miles an hour," the former England captain added.
England needed Wood in morning session
Wood said that Ollie Pope-led side was missing Wood in the first session of Day 4 as the pitch conditions were not too bowler-friendly. While an official announcement is yet to be made on his availability for next Test and the remainder of the series, Wood predicted that he will not play another match in the series or for the entire summer.
"We saw it this morning when the pitch was flat, there wasn't a great deal there for the spin, there was no lateral movement, they were crying out for Mark Wood. He is not going to play at Lords. He might not be seen again this summer," he said.
"So I personally would wrap him in cotton wool for the next couple of weeks. They have to make sure that next year he is a hundred percent fit to go in around 60 to 70 percent of the Test matches, and if they have him fit, they have a chance of doing something very special," the 49-year-old added.
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Wood’s replacement in squad
Vaughan sees Olly Stone replacing Wood in the squad if the latter gets ruled out. Stone played his last Test in 2021 against New Zealand. He has 10 wickets from three Tests.
"You have got to have five bowlers. So you would think someone like Sam Curran may get a call if Woakes is going to be struggling. I don't know how bad Chris Woakes is. Olly Stone is probably going to play for Mark Wood. England have got good options," he said.
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