England's Wood to step-up comeback at Cheltenham
14 July 2016
Mark Wood has been added to the England Lions squad for the Tri-Series against the A-teams of Sri Lanka and Pakistan which starts at the Brewin Dolphin Cheltenham Cricket Festival next Monday.
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The Durham and England fast bowler is in the early stages of his comeback after an operation on his left ankle in April and took his first wicket of the season in a NatWest T20 Blast fixture against Leicestershire Foxes last Sunday.
He made his England debut at the start of the 2015 summer and was a key part of the Ashes success, taking the wicket that sealed the historic series win at Trent Bridge.
Capable of bowling in excess of 90mph he will be one-to-watch for fans attending the game between England Lions and Sri Lanka A at the Brewin Dolphin Cheltenham Cricket Festival on July 19.
Wood was invited to join the England practice session at Lord’s on Tuesday afternoon and will play in a second Blast game for Durham at home to Northants Steelbacks at the Emirates Riverside on Friday night before linking up with the Lions.
National Selector James Whittaker said: “He is a great example of a player who came through the Lions with an outstanding tour of South Africa in the winter of 2014-15 to make his Test debut last summer, and his inclusion should give a boost to this Lions squad, as well as giving him the chance to work with the younger bowlers in the squad.”
The Lions are monitoring the fitness of Jamie Overton, who suffered a back injury when bowling for Somerset in their Specsavers County Championship game against Middlesex on Monday.
England Lions squad for Tri-Series, July 18-25
Dawid Malan (Middlesex, captain)
Daniel Bell-Drummond (Kent)
Ben Duckett (Northants)
Joe Clarke (Worcestershire)
Brett D’Oliveira (Worcestershire)
Sam Billings (Kent, wk)
Liam Livingstone (Lancashire)
Liam Dawson (Hampshire)
Tom Curran (Surrey)
Jamie Overton (Somerset)
Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire)
George Garton (Sussex)
Mark Wood (Durham)
Sam Curran (Surrey) * to join squad for last two matches only
Tri-Series Fixtures
Monday July 18 – Pakistan A v Sri Lanka A (Cheltenham)
Tuesday July 19 – England Lions v Pakistan A (Cheltenham)
Thursday July 21 – England Lions v Sri Lanka A (Northampton)
Friday July 22 – Pakistan A v Sri Lanka A (Northampton)
Sunday July 24 – England Lions v Pakistan A (Canterbury)
Monday July 25 – England Lions v Sri Lanka A (Canterbury)
