England added the experienced fast bowler Mark Wood to their squad for the second Test against West Indies on Saturday, July 13. Wood came into the team as James Anderson retired from Tests after England's huge win at Lord's on Friday.
The 34-year-old Wood was given an extended rest due to his involvement with England's squad for the recent ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Gus Atkinson and Chris Woakes partnered Anderson in the Lord's Test with the former taking a combined 12 wickets on his sensational debut.
Wood last played red-ball cricket during England's tour of India 2024 where he featured in the Dharamsala Test. The speedster is expected to replace the veteran Chris Woakes for the upcoming Test at Trent Bridge. Woakes returned with just one wicket in two innings at Lord's.
Atkinson, 26, claimed seven wickets in the first inning to make a sensational start to his Test career and bowled out West Indies to 121 on Day 1. England batters also struggled but managed to post a 371 total in their first innings after brilliant fifties from the veteran Joe Root and another debutant wicketkeeper batter Jamie Smith.
After trailing by 250 runs in the first innings, West Indies lost six wickets for 79 in their second innings on Day 2. England bowlers continued their red-hot run to bowl out the visiting side in the first session on Day 3 and recorded a huge win by an innings and 114 runs.
Atkinson also picked a five-wicket haul in the second innings to record the fouth-best figures in a debut Test match in red-ball cricket history. Anderson finished his career with four wickets across two innings and overall 704 wickets in 188 Tests.
England squad for 2nd Test against West Indies
Ben Stokes (c), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Dillon Pennington, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
