For a measure of Mark Wood’s impact, consider series in successive home summers which he has joined and left partway through.
Twelve months ago, it was the Ashes, and that blistering spell at Headingley that changed the complexion of the contest with Australia 2-0 up and on the brink of retaining the Urn.
This time around, it was Old Trafford, and the thigh injury that forced the pacer out of last week’s First Test against Sri Lanka, and left room for England to be given their first serious summer scare.
The unenviable task of filling the Durham quick’s shoes and denting inflated Sri Lankan hopes of a series-levelling victory at Lord’s from tomorrow falls to Olly Stone. Now 30, Stone has played just three Tests since his debut on the same ground five years ago, and none at all in the last three.
Arguably, his most noteworthy visit to St John’s Wood since his bow against Ireland was to the Wellington Hospital, to have two screws put into his spine after repeated stress fractures, in 2021.
“It’s the best thing I ever went in for and, touch wood, I’ve had no recurrence with that,” Stone said here yesterday.
That Stone has remained on England’s radar through that absence is no surprise. He toured New Zealand during the first Bazball winter without winning a cap and was pencilled in for a role in the Ashes before a hamstring injury tore up those plans.
Capable of bowling at 90mph, he has long been talked about as part of a (yet to be realised) rotating pace triumvirate alongside Wood and Jofra Archer, around whom the excitement for a Test return will build should he come through the 50-over series against Australia next month.
Gone are the days when England tended to find room for only one of these fast men, alongside a core of skilful swing and seam bowlers. From Josh Tongue’s selection at the start of last summer and that of Gus Atkinson at the head of this, to the ousting of James Anderson, now here in a mentoring role, and Ollie Robinson, it has been clear that England are shifting the balance of their attack to pack in more high-pace options.
National selector Luke Wright effectively confirmed that they now think of their seamers as two different types of bowlers, suggesting that were it Chris Woakes who had gone down, Essex’s Sam Cook might have been in line for a cap.
As it was, 20-year-old Josh Hull was summoned for some experience and Stone promoted to the XI. He has been made to wait for this comeback — but notably, England have been ready to wait for him, too.
