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Wood called by England for second West Indies Test

Mark Wood replaces the retired James Anderson for the second Test, following Anderson's record-breaking career and England's decisive win in the first Test at Lord’s.

Wood, who missed the first Test due to his involvement in England's T20 World Cup squad in June, returns to the lineup. The 34-year-old pacer, with 108 wickets in 34 Tests, will join forces with Gus Atkinson, while Chris Woakes serves as the other specialist seamer.

England's XI for the second Test is as follows: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, and Shoaib Bashir.

Matthew Potts and the uncapped Dillon Pennington, both part of the squad for the first Test at Lord’s, sit out again. Pennington, playing for Nottinghamshire, misses the opportunity to debut on his home ground.

England, leading the series 1-0, aim to secure their first Test series win since the Pakistan tour in 2022 with a victory at Trent Bridge. Given the tight schedule, further changes to the pace attack are anticipated for the third Test at Edgbaston next week.

Woakes, now 35, earns his 50th cap and steps up as the attack leader following the retirements of Anderson and Stuart Broad. This will be England's first home Test since 2012 without either Anderson or Broad in the side.

Surrey’s Atkinson, 26, impressed with match figures of 12-106 at Lord’s, the fourth-best performance by a bowler on Test debut in history.

Meanwhile, West Indies are monitoring the fitness of pace bowler Shamar Joseph, who struggled with a left hamstring injury at Lord’s. The 24-year-old bowled in the nets at Trent Bridge on Tuesday and is not currently considered doubtful for the match.