Wood fit and firing in time for Ashes opener

ENGLAND stand ready to embrace all-out pace in tomorrow’s Ashes opener in Perth after Mark Wood was cleared for action.

- By RORY DOLLARD

Wood has been named in a 12-man squad for the series opener and is the fastest among a five-strong arsenal of seamers which also includes Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse, Gus Atkinson and captain Ben Stokes.

Spinner Shoaib Bashir has been included as insurance against a late change in conditions but all signs point towards England channelling their need for speed.

Wood has endured elbow and knee surgery since his last Test appearance in August 2024, as well as a minor hamstring scare during last week’s warm-up match, but is seen as a gamble worth taking. He boasts an excellent record against Australia - lowering his career average from 30.42 to 27.48 against the old enemy - and rattled them by searing speeds of more than 97mph in the 2023 series.

He had a brief workout in the nets on Wednesday, bowling a couple of overs before fielding practice and later had a long look at the pitch.