England pacer Brydon Carse has revealed that bopth Ben Stokes and Mark Wood are close to reaching full fitness ahead of the crucial Ashes series against Australia. While Stokes had missed out on the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against India due to a shoulder injury, Wood has spent a lot of time sidelines with his last appearance for England in red-ball cricket coming in August, 2024. This is due to issues with his elbow and knee.
Carse revealed that he had spent a few nights with both Stokes and Wood and the two are looking ready to give their all in the upcoming Test series.
"I've been down to Loughborough in the past couple of weeks, had a couple of nights with them. Ben is looking near enough 100% fit and so is Mark. I've been bowling with them. It's exciting to see where they have got to after their setbacks during the summer. They will be raring to go come Australia time," Carse said as quoted by BBC.
Stokes and Wood will be crucial for England
Notably, Stokes and Wood are the only two pacers in England's current squad to have participated in Ashes series held in Australia. Both of them are also the most experienced bowlers in the squad and The Three Lions will be relying on them for wickets in the upcoming assignment.
Carse believes that even though only two pacers have played in an away Ashes series, the others can also contribute well as they have previously featured in multiple A tours.
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"You can look at it two ways. Stokesy and Woody have played in Ashes series down in Australia, so they have the experience to fall back on. A couple of the other seamers have played in A trips out there. Hopefully, that experience will allow them to feel a level of confidence going into the Ashes," Carse stated.
England's squad for The Ashes: Ben Stokes (captain), Harry Brook (vice-captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Mark Wood.