Olly Stone Replaces Mark Wood as England Name Playing XI For 2nd Test vs Sri Lanka

Fast bowler Olly Stone will replace the injured Mark Wood in the England team to play Sri Lanka in the second Test at Lord’s, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Tuesday. Wood injured his thigh during the first Test and has been ruled out for the rest of the series.

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The 30-year-old Stone, who has made three Test appearances in an injury-plagued career, will play in his first Test since June 2021. Stone says he will try and replicate the role Wood has been assigned for England: bowl really, really fast.

“It’s been pretty frightening… the way he’s (Wood) come in and bowled this summer is very exciting,” Stone said on Tuesday. “Hopefully, I can go out there and try to touch his speeds. He’s obviously up there with the fastest in the world so I’m not sure if I’ll match it – but I’ll give it a good shot.”

Stone underwent a back surgery in 2021 and he’s thankful for having done that.

“It’s the best thing I ever went in for. Thankfully – touch wood – so far, I’ve had no recurrences with that… I’ll keep coming back for Test cricket until my body tells me otherwise,” he said.

“I just love the feeling of coming off after a long four or five days, on the back of a hard-fought win. It’s more than just skill at times: it’s your character, and the way you are out there as a team for those four or five days. It’s something that white-ball cricket can’t give you. I just love the slog of that hard graft, going out there and providing your team with something different to help you try to win the game.

“I’ve always said that one of the reasons I went down certain surgical routes to have my back sorted was so that I could go out and play Test cricket again. It’s never been in my mind to give that up. If my body then gave up on me, maybe I’d have to step away. But thankfully, so far, I’ve found a way and I can be back out there in an England shirt,” he added.

England lead the three-match series after their five-wicket win at Old Trafford. The second Test starts from Thursday.

England XI: Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Olly Stone, Shoaib Bashir.

With Reuters Inputs