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England have called up uncapped pace bowler Josh Hull after a thigh injury ruled Mark Wood out of the last two Tests against Sri Lanka.
Wood pulled up mid-over on the penultimate day of England’s five-wicket win in the series opener at Emirates Old Trafford and was unable to play any further part in the match.
Olly Stone is already with the squad and could be in line to play his first Test in three years at Lord’s on Thursday, but England have once again taken a bold selection gamble to replace Wood.
Leicestershire prospect Hull only turned 20 earlier this week and has just nine first-class matches to his name.
With 15 wickets at an average of 58.06, in years gone by he would have been seen as one to watch for the future but the current England has increasingly focused on player profile rather than bare statistics.
As a 6ft 7in left-armer, Hull is an intriguing proposition whose height and angle of attack mark him out as a unique proposition.
- Nine matches
- 15 wickets
- 58.06 average
- 4.80 economy rate
He has good pace, the ability to extract bounce and, as a left-armer, could help create footmarks to assist off-spinner Shoaib Bashir.
Hull is currently featuring in Leicestershire’s Vitality County Championship game against Gloucestershire, with his figures from that match further underlining England’s willingness to overlook domestic form.
In the first innings at Bristol he took one for 133 from his 23 overs, with an economy rate of 5.78 and six no-balls.
Hull’s rising stock was confirmed when he earned an England Lions call-up to face Sri Lanka in a pre-Test warm-up earlier this month, taking five wickets including experienced duo Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal.
His call-up continues the regeneration of England’s pace bowling group following the retirements of Stuart Broad and James Anderson, with Gus Atkinson making a fine start to his Test career over the past four matches and Dillon Pennington making the squad for the first time against West Indies before succumbing to injury.
Hull’s selection spells further disappointment for Ollie Robinson and Craig Overton, whose paths back to the international arena look tougher by the day, while Sam Cook – the most consistent county seamer on the circuit in recent years – has been overlooked once more.
Sam Curran’s name was also touted as a possible solution, with the all-rounder returning to red-ball cricket for Surrey during the recent round of matches, but his gentle pace may have been a deciding factor given England’s stated aim of building an attack to win the Ashes in Australia.
