'I do expect Wood to come back' - Mark Ramprakash believes pace, hostility and variety could aid England at Lord's

Former cricketer Mark Ramprakash expects England to change their combination in the second Test of the ongoing Ashes 2023 and hand Mark Wood an opportunity as his lethal pace can trouble the Australian batters. Notably, in the first Test at Edgbaston, the home team suffered with the ball as James Anderson and Moeen Ali could not make much of a difference. Even after taking the second new ball, skipper Ben Stokes didn’t turn to Anderson and that has raised a few eyebrows. 

Interestingly, Anderson’s form is a major concern at the moment as he did not look very sharp in both innings of the Edgbaston Test. Thus, Ramprakash expects Wood to make his return as the flat-deck of Lord’s will barely help Anderson, but Wood’s pace can do the trick.

“By and large, England will be happy they played the brand of cricket they wanted to. The only thing is, they have asked for quite flat wickets which are batter-friendly which can, to a degree, negate England’s greatest bowler in Jimmy Anderson, who only took one wicket in the game. His form will perhaps be a bit of a concern going forward to Lord’s and they will have to make a call on selection.

“It was a big thing for Moeen Ali to come back in, but, with the amount of overs he bowled, he ripped the skin off his spinning finger and that impaired his performance in the second innings and that is something they will have to look at very closely. I expect Mark Wood to be seriously considered because England need some pace in their line-up. It is just injecting a bit of life. If Moeen is struggling, what variety do England have in their attack if the wicket is flat? I do expect Wood to come back in,” Ramprakash said while talking to BBC.

Notably, the second Test of the series will begin on June 28. Ahead of that, Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad’s fitness will be closely monitored as both are currently dealing with hand and leg injuries respectively.