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England pacer Mark Wood Doubtful For West Indies Clash

Written by N Krishnamurthy

Mark Wood, so far the fastest bowler of World Cup 2019, might not be part of England’s playing XI against the West Indies on Friday after his longstanding ankle problems recurred. The injury took place during England’s win over Bangladesh in the last game where he bowled the fastest delivery of the tournament with speedometer reading 153.9 kmph. Commenting on Wood’s injury, skipper Eoin Morgan described it as “nothing too serious” but “we probably won’t take a risk”.

“It’s nothing too serious, he just pulled up a little bit sore from the game in Cardiff — he’s the only concern at the moment,” Morgan said on Thursday.

“Mark is going to have a fitness test in the morning. If it is still sore, we probably won’t take a risk.”

Morgan said all teams at the World Cup would need to look after their quicks in particular.

“It’s part of the plan, because they are fast bowlers. It will happen to other bowlers throughout the tournament,” he said.

“We’re well aware of that. We will have to manage them as we would normally, as we do with Chris Woakes if there’s back-to-back games,” Morgan added.

“It’s not a problem, it’s just what happens.”

 

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N Krishnamurthy