England in West Indies: Mark Wood ruled out of second Test

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England fast bowler Mark Wood jogs in trainingImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Mark Wood was only able to bowl 17 overs in the first Test and did not appear on the final day

West Indies v England, second Test

Venue: Kensington Oval, Barbados Dates: 16-20 March Time: 14:00 GMT

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England fast bowler Mark Wood has been ruled out of the second Test against West Indies in Barbados and will be replaced by Saqib Mahmood.

Wood injured an elbow on day three of the drawn first Test in Antigua.

He did not bowl in West Indies' second innings after suffering "acute pain" when trying to bowl in the nets before the start of play on day five.

Lancashire's Mahmood, 25, will make his Test debut, with the match starting on Wednesday.

Ollie Robinson, who had a lengthy session in the nets on Monday after missing the first Test because of a back injury, continues to be sidelined.

Wood was only able to bowl five overs on day three of the first Test before leaving the field.

While both bowlers will miss the second Test, neither Wood or Robinson have been ruled out of the final meeting in the three-match series.

England captain Joe Root says Wood's omission from the team will be "disappointing" for the Durham player.

"He's been exceptional for us of late," said Root. "He's a big part of this team moving forward but it gives other guys opportunities."

Root says replacement Mahmood is a "great option to have up our sleeve".

"He's very mature for a guy who hasn't played a huge amount of international cricket and he has an understanding of how he wants to operate," said Root.

"He's been very impressive. He's got a slightly different trajectory and will give us a point of difference. He has done that when he's played in other formats.

"Clearly he has good control, especially if the ball moves with reverse swing."

England left out James Anderson and Stuart Broad, their top two leading wicket-takers in Tests, from the tour of the Caribbean.

Neither is understood to be on the list of reserves, with Warwickshire's Liam Norwell, 30, expected to be called up if required.

England XI for second Test: Alex Lees, Zak Crawley, Joe Root (c), Dan Lawrence, Ben Stokes, Jonathan Bairstow Ben Foakes (wk), Chris Woakes, Craig Overton , Jack Leach, Mahmood

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