The Right fast-arm bowler Olly Stone has been called in as a replacement for injured Mark Wood for the second test in Sri Lanka’s tour of England 2024 which is set to begin on August 29.
Mark Wood sustained a thigh injury on the third day of the first test at Old Trafford and has been sidelined leading to this change.
Initially, Leicestershire’s Josh Hull was drafted into the squad as Wood’s replacement. But England opted for an experienced bowler for the playing 11, due to which Olly Stone has been brought in as a replacement.
Olly Stone was part of the initial squad but was released to play County Championship matches and replaced uncapped pacer Dillon Pennington, who withdrew due to a hamstring injury.
🔄 We’ve made one change from Old Trafford…
Welcome, Olly Stone 🤝
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 27, 2024
England Playing 11 for Sri Lanka’s second test: Daniel Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Olly Stone, Shoaib Bashir
Stone has played three tests for England and bagged 10 wickets with an average of 19.40. With Ben Stokes and Zak Crawley being ruled out for the series due to injuries, Mark Wood’s injury has set a major blowback with injury concerns.
While speaking about returning to the national side, Olly Stone said, “It’s been pretty frightening… the way he’s come in and bowled this summer is very exciting,” Stone said. “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 has taken 11 wickets for Nottinghamshire this season, but will be joining the England squad for the test series. England secured a five-wicket victory in the first test against Sri Lanka and the second match is set to begin on August 29 at Lord’s.
