Perth, Nov 18 (IANS) England’s Ashes prospects have been boosted significantly by seeing speedster Mark Wood bowl at training in Perth after his hamstring scare. He was seen bowling full seam during England’s nets session here at the Optus Stadium, with one leg fully strapped.

After missing the entire English season due to a knee injury, Wood reported hamstring stiffness during the tourists’ only Ashes warm-up match at Lilac Hill and was subsequently sent for scans.

His fitness status was uncertain, and at the same time, Josh Hazlewood was also ruled out of Australia’s squad for the Perth Test due to a hamstring strain. However, Wood’s return to bowling brought smiles and hopes for the England squad during their first of the three training sessions at Perth Stadium before the opening Test on Friday.

Even if Wood isn’t selected for the team in the first Test, his quick recovery from the hamstring scare suggests he remains on course to play a key role in the series. He has consistently been England’s top pace bowler in the last two Ashes campaigns. Wood tested young England batter Jacob Bethel and several other squad players with a six-over session lasting about 30 minutes, The Age reported.

England bowling coach David Saker spoke to Wood between balls as the bowler wore a compression sleeve on his left leg, where he has had a knee injury this year and a hamstring scare last week.

After jogging and a few warm-up deliveries, Wood bowled with a full run, occasionally beating the bat and making Bethel quick to respond with some short balls. Later during Wood’s training, England captain Ben Stokes took on umpire duties to observe his fast bowler carefully, even theatrically calling a dead ball when Wood stopped running toward the crease.

England coach Brendon McCullum talked with director Rob Key as they watched Wood bowl. Later, Key went over to speak with Saker.

With Woods’ participation in the Ashes opener still not confirmed, it’ll be interesting to see how he performs if he’s named in the XI.

–IANS

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