Ben Stokes captain’s England’s team for the Lord’s Test of the 2023 Ashes, along with Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue, and James Anderson. Only one alteration was made from the Edgbaston Test match: Tongue, a fast bowler, took Moeen’s place, who had been dealing with a damaged spinning finger.
Rehan had been called up to replace Moeen, and the two had been rehearsing at Lord’s. Fast bowler Matthew Potts had been released at the same time for the County Championship.
Anderson openly expressed his displeasure with the ground following the Edgbaston Test match: “That pitch was like kryptonite for me. Little swing, little reverse swing, no seam movement, no bounce, and no pace were present.
Despite the fact that Moeen’s finger had “recovered really well,” England chose to play with an additional fast bowler and left Moeen and Rehan out of the starting XI. According to Stokes, another factor was Lord’s repute for providing nothing for the spinner.
They have three options for that. In the 2021/22 Ashes, Wood, their fastest bowler, had the most wickets (17), while Woakes, Tongue, and Woakes are the only other Test cricketers with 300 runs at or above 50 and 25 wickets under 15, both records set at Lord’s.
Since England lacked a bowler with true pace on the flat Edgbaston track, Wood would have been their first choice.
When asked if England “wanted to play Mark Wood” at Lord’s, Captain Stokes responded, “We felt that he could definitely start the game, but with conversations, we felt the extra week with build-up and getting his loads up would give him a better chance and an opportunity to play a full part from Leeds onwards.” To match Tonguey and Woody, we added him to the team.
Before the third Test match at Headingley, Stokes stressed that England was anxious for Wood to be healthy again: “He wasn’t sure he’d be able to produce what he’s known for throughout this Test match. To give him the best chance to go out and play a full part starting in Leeds, it was decided to let him keep building up his body.
Since the 2023 IPL, Wood has been unable to play professional cricket due to fitness issues. Since the Test match in Karachi in December of last year, he has not participated in any first-class cricket.
Tongue played against Ireland in his lone Test at Lord’s earlier this month. Tongue made an impression with 5-66 in the second innings on a batting-friendly pitch after going wicketless in the first.
It is important to note that Joe Root is serving as England’s primary spinner during the Test match.