Durham star Wood handed England place
DURHAM bowler Mark Wood and uncapped Lancashire batsman Liam Livingstone have been called up by England for the two-match Test series in New Zealand.
As expected there has been no mass bloodletting after the comprehensive Ashes defeat, with Gary Ballance, Jake Ball and Tom Curran the only absentees from the group beaten 4-0 in Australia.
Ballance did not feature in the series, Ball featured only in the first Test and Curran was a late addition to the squad before turning out in Melbourne and Sydney.
Trevor Bayliss made a strong case for the retention of Newcastleborn batsman Mark Stoneman and James Vince when reviewing the campaign this week, but the pair underperformed Down Under and there is little doubt that this show of faith requires immediate payback if they are to linger in the side.
England play two warm-up matches in Hamilton before a gruelling winter schedule finally ends with Tests in Auckland on March 22 and Christchurch on March 30.
Ashington bowler Wood would have been present for the Test leg in Australia had he been considered fit and robust enough for the challenge.
Persistent injuries have kept the Durham quick, who is capable of the kind of express pace Root’s side so conspicuously lacked in the past few months, to just 10 Test caps since debuting in May 2015.
Wood (below) is currently with England’s limited-overs squad looking to exact a measure of revenge for the Ashes.
“After a frustrating period with injuries, Mark is now back to full fitness and is looking forward to being part of our Test plans,” said National selector James Whitaker. “He will play a significant part in our forthcoming ODI tour of Australia and we will pay close attention to his efforts over the next few weeks.”
Livingstone, 24 from Cumbria, is the spare batsman on tour and will likely push harder for a place than Ballance, who resembled little more than a place holder in the Ashes.