Wood replacement revealed as England announce XI for second Sri Lanka Test

England opted for Olly Stone in their XI as a like-for-like replacement for the injured Mark Wood at Lord's.
England have announced their playing XI for the second Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's.

Injury-plagued pacer Olly Stone wins the race to replace the injured Mark Wood, with the inclusion of the right-armer the only change to the England team that defeated Sri Lanka by five wickets in the opening Test of the series in Manchester.

Wood hurt his thigh during that first Test at Old Trafford and was subsequently ruled out for the remainder of the three-match ICC World Test Championship series against Sri Lanka.

Uncapped left-armer Josh Hull was called up to the squad as a potential replacement, but selectors have opted to give Stone another chance to show his wares in what will be just his fourth Test appearance.

Stone made his Test debut against Ireland at Lord's back in 2019, but has since battled back injuries and struggled to maintain his fitness until finally getting some continuity this season.

While Stone knows he won't be able to replicate the pace that Wood possesses with the red ball, the 30-year-old has vowed to bowl as fast as he can as he attempt to win his place back in England's Test side.

"It's been pretty frightening… the way he (Wood) has 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."

England XI for second Test v Sri Lanka: Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Olly Stone, Shoaib Bashir