Setback: Mark Wood is unlikely to play for England in the Third Test against West Indies in Grenada
(Picture: Getty Images)England are resigned to losing Mark Wood for the Third Test against West Indies in Grenada. The quick bowler injured his elbow in the First Test in Antigua, and England are awaiting the results of his second scan since arriving in Barbados. The first clearly did not tell them enough.
It had been hoped that Wood could play in Grenada but that now seems a long shot. His next cricket will be in the IPL, where he has a deal worth nearly £750,000 with Lucknow Super Giants. If he is injured, it is normal for players to have insurance.
Wood has his wife and son on tour and was running drinks with his usual smiley disposition on day one and is said to not be too concerned by the injury. More will be known in the coming days.
Overton and out
It came as a bit of a shock that Craig Overton was withdrawn from England’s side on the morning of the game, but the team – and Matthew Fisher, his replacement – were ready for it. Overton reported feeling faint after bowling in training on Tuesday.
“He was feeling a bit fatigued in the last couple of days, we were monitoring him yesterday, saw how he was today and he’s just not quite up to scratch,” said England batting coach Marcus Trescothick, who is confident Fisher is up to the task of playing Test cricket.
Sobers and Gayle
While most of the fans at Kensington Oval on day one were English, there was Caribbean cricket royalty in attendance. The Windies’ greatest Test player, Garfield Sobers, was there, as was Chris Gayle, their greatest T20 player (only one of them has hit six sixes in an over, mind). Needless to say Sobers, 86 this year, wasn’t dancing with scantily clad women on a stage in the party stand…
Keep on keeping on
A funny hum through the stump mic as England racked up the runs on the first afternoon. “We are the Windies, the mighty Windies…” It wasn’t the Barmies, who were much louder than that, but Joshua Da Silva, the lively wicketkeeper.
Flattened by the pitch
An entertainingly withering assessment of the pitch from Roddy Estwick, the West Indies assistant coach. The 60-year-old is a local, and does not like what he sees.
Asked if this was the pitch the Windies wanted, he responded: “No… I don’t think so”. The pace and bounce of their 2019 win over England would have been the blueprint.
“I don’t know how it happened,” he said. “If you’re a batter you want to bat on that pitch - if you’re a bowler you think ‘wow’.”
On hold for Warne
The Hundred Draft has been put back a week, until April 4 (with picks revealed on April 5), so as not to clash with Shane Warne’s state funeral at the MCG. Warne was London Spirit’s head coach.
A replacement will not be announced for some time, with their backroom team – led by David Ripley and Warne’s close friend Dimi Mascarenhas – and skipper Eoin Morgan leading them at the men’s draft.
Officially appointed
The ECB have announced five new umpiring appointments for the coming season. Sue Redfern, who won 21 caps for England in the 1990s, will become the first woman to officiate in men’s first-class cricket in England after being announced as part of the newly-named Professional Umpires' Team.
Also new to the 34-strong list are Naeem Ashraf, Anthony Harris, Surendiran Shanmugam and Jack Shantry, the popular former Worcestershire seamer.
