ENG v WI 2024: Mark Wood named James Anderson's replacement for second Test against West Indies

England has named seamer Mark Wood as James Anderson's replacement for the second Test against West Indies at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, starting Thursday (July 18). Wood is added to the 14-man squad following Anderson’s Test retirement with the conclusion of the first Test at the Lord’s, which England won by an innings and 114 runs.

Meanwhile, Wood, who last played a Test against India during the away tour earlier this year, was rested in Anderson’s farewell Test to give him some time off since he was part of the recently concluded T20 World Cup in the Americas.

ALSO READ:What happens if Team India pulls out of ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan?

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Announcing Wood’s inclusion to the squad, England men's managing director, Robert Key, said, "Once you come out of T20 cricket, then you're going into Test cricket very quickly... there's a period there where you can't just throw someone into a Test match."

"Rest is probably not the right term, but we'll look to make him available for selection for the second and third Tests, hopefully,” he continued.

Meanwhile, during the first Test at Lord’s, England handed the Test cap to Gus Atkinson, who returned with the fourth-best figures on Test debut, claiming 12/106 across both innings. While he returned with seven for 45 in the first innings, the lanky seamer picked a five-for in the second, including three of four remaining wickets early on day three.

Besides the usual pace attack, including Gus and Chris Woakes, Matthew Pott and uncapped Dillon Pennington are the two seam-bowling options for the hosts.

England squad for second Test against West Indies –

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

James Anderson retired from Test cricket following the win over West Indies in the first match in London. Having played 188 Tests, Anderson is only second to the great Sachin Tendulkar on the list of players with the most appearances in the red-ball cricket.

His 704 Test wickets make him the third-most successful Test bowler after the late Shane Warne (708) and Sri Lanka great Muttiah Muralitharan (800).

This tally, however, makes him the seamer with most Test wickets, with his former bowling partner Stuart Broad (604) and Glenn McGrath (563) following him.

In his last Test, Anderson picked four wickets across both innings, one in the first and three in the second.

(With inputs from agencies)