Why is Mark Wood not playing T20 World Cup 2024 Match 49 between England and USA?

England is set to face the USA in what promises to be a high-voltage clash at the Kensington Oval, Barbados.

Jos Buttler won the toss for the third time in the Super 8s and once again elected to field first.

While the USA proceeded with an unchanged XI from their previous encounter against the West Indies, Buttler announced one alteration to his side's lineup.

All-rounder, Chris Jordan, entered the fray, replacing speedster, Mark Wood.

This decision was understandable, as Wood had only managed to take three wickets since the group stages, all of which were against Oman. Despite maintaining his pace, Wood has appeared lackluster overall and has struggled with his accuracy. His underutilization in England's previous game against the Proteas made this change foreseeable.

Also Check: T20 World Cup 2024: Match USA vs ENG: Live Updates, Commentary, Scores, and More

Jordan provides depth in the batting lineup and could prove invaluable with his variations. Additionally, his exceptional fielding skills add further strength to the team, and England would be hoping for him to come to the party in the ever-so important clash against the co-hosts.

"We'll bowl first. An early morning start, it'll be tacky to start, that's the reason to bowl. Everyone's good and getting ready, has been a quick turnaround. We got a tough game, USA have played some tough cricket. We know what we have to do. I think the boys have bowled well, hopefully today's the day. Jordan comes in for Wood," said Buttler.

"Wanted to bowl first as well. We're going to go hard, it's a good wicket. We're going to play fearless cricket like always, let's see how it goes. We need to be more disciplined in batting and bowling. Going to come back stronger today (after that loss against the West Indies.) Same team as the last game," said Aaron Jones.

England's Playing XI: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (c/wk), Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley.

USA's Playing XI:  Steven Taylor, Andries Gous (wk), Nitish Kumar, Aaron Jones (c), Corey Anderson, Milind Kumar, Harmeet Singh, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Nosthush Kenjige, Ali Khan, Saurabh Netravalkar.