Former England captain Michael Vaughan reckons the Ollie Pope-led team will miss the services of Mark Wood more than Ben Stokes in the last two Test matches against Sri Lanka. England registered a five-wicket win against the Island nation at Old Trafford, Manchester on Saturday to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Vaughan feels even Jofra Archer can’t match Wood’s express pace. Wood bowled 10.2 overs in the second innings before he suffered a thigh injury in the opening Test match. The fast bowler bagged a total of two wickets in the first Test match and he is now doubtful for the remaining two matches of the series.
“Mark Wood is the key, look at all the England side, even Ben Stokes now. Ben Stokes is a talisman, an incredible cricketer, England miss but they will miss Wood even more because there is no one who can bowl 95 miles an hour,” Vaughan said on BBC Test match special.
“Mark Wood is becoming quite quickly the most important member of this team because he brings something that they haven’t got anyone that can bring. Even Jofra Archer can’t bowl this pace. He (Wood) is bowling 95 to 97 miles an hour,” the former England captain added.
Vaughan said England deeply missed Wood’s services on the fourth day’s morning but he doesn’t see the gun pacer recovering in time for the next two games.
“We saw it this morning when the pitch was flat, there wasn’t a great deal there for the spin, there was no lateral movement, they were crying out for Mark Wood. He is not going to play at Lords. He might not be seen again this summer,” he said.
“So I personally would wrap him in cotton wool for the next couple of weeks. They have to make sure that next year he is a hundred percent fit to go in around 60 to 70 percent of the Test matches, and if they have him fit, they have a chance of doing something very special,” the cricketer-turned-commentator added.
Vaughan backed Olly Stone to replace Mark Wood in the next two matches in the final XI.
“You have got to have five bowlers. So you would think someone like Sam Curran may get a call if Woakes is going to be struggling. I don’t know how bad Chris Woakes is. Olly Stone is probably going to play for Mark Wood. England have got good options,” he replied.
The second Test match between England and Sri Lanka will be played at Lord’s, starting August 29.
