England pacer Mark Wood has not taken the field on Day 4 of the England vs Sri Lanka 1st Test at Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester. Going into the penultimate day of the Test, the hosts have their noses in front with the visitors being six down with not many runs in their kitty in the second innings.
However, Wood's absence might give a boost to the Lankan Lions, who began the fourth day on 204/6 with a lead of 82 runs. During the final few overs on Day 3, Wood hobbled off the field after aborting his run-up and went back to the dressing room.
The ECB has dropped a major update on the pacer, confirming that Wood has picked up a 'right thigh muscle injury' and that he won't return to the field on the penultimate day of the game. "Speedy recovery, Woody. Mark Wood has sustained a right thigh muscle injury. He won't return to the field today and will continue to be assessed by the England medical team," ECB wrote in a post on social media platform X.
While ECB confirmed that the medical team will access him, the board has not given any update on whether he will return on Day 5 if needed.
Wood delivered 10.2 overs in the second innings, conceding 36 runs and taking only one wicket. He dismissed Dimuth Karunaratne with his first ball of the innings, hurrying the Sri Lankan opener and with a short bullet-speed ball to get him caught at slips.
While he sent thunderbolts above 145 kph consistently, Wood did not get any further breakthrough. He even hit wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal on his thumb with some serious pace. The batter had to retire hurt and go to the hospital for a scan but came back after being cleared of a fracture.
England scored 358/10 in the first innings after Sri Lanka had put 236/10 batting first. The visitors have shown more resilience with the bat in the second innings.
England's Playing XI:
Daniel Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir
Sri Lanka's Playing XI:
Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Milan Priyanath Rathnayake
