Wood replaces Anderson in England squad for second Test

Mark Wood has been called up to the England squad for the second Test against the West Indies, replacing James Anderson. Wood last played in whites in March 2024.

With James Anderson retiring after the first Test against the West Indies at Lord's, England has added pacer Mark Wood to the squad for the second Test, which will start on July 18 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

Mark Wood played three out of five Test matches against India earlier this year. He was also part of England's T20 World Cup squad and was in the playing XI for five matches. However, the pacer did not play in England's last two matches, including the 68-run defeat to India in the semi-final.

Besides Anderson and Atkinson, Chris Woakes was in the playing XI for the Lord's Test. Pace option Ben Stokes bowled 18 overs in two innings to prove his bowling fitness. Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir was also in the XI but did not bowl a single over. Matthew Potts and uncapped Dillon Pennington are the pace-bowling options in the squad.

England squad for the second Test:

Ben Stokes (captain), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Dillon Pennington, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.