The second Test will begin on December 4 in Brisbane.
The Ashes 2025 started on a horrible note for England. To add to their woes, key pacer Mark Wood is set to miss the upcoming pink ball Test. The action for the second out of five matches is set to unfold from December 4 in Brisbane.
Wood is returning from a knee injury, and England are taking a precautionary measure to save the fastest bowler in their unit. His last red-ball appearance came after a gap of nine months.
The 35-year-old was part of the forgettable first Test in Perth, which ended in two days courtesy of Australia veteran Mitchell Starc taking 10 wickets across the two innings. Wood, however, returned wicketless in that match.
During the match, the pacer had mentioned that he would “definitely not play five” matches of the Ashes 2025 series.
Speaking on November 29, Ben Stokes added to how disappointed Mark Wood is feeling after the loss, and how England will try to undo the damage in the second Test.
“He’s so passionate about what he does, some people take disappointment different to others. I’ve known Woody a long time, we’re good mates, not just because we play cricket together. He’s just as disappointed as anyone else in the dressing room, we’ve reflected this week, we’ve done all that and now we’re focused on what we’ve got to do here in Brisbane,” Stokes said.
England are 1 down in the series, and would focus on fighting back despite the pacer’s absence. However, if things go well, the veteran should be back for the third Test in Adelaide, starting from December 17.
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Way before the first Test of the ongoing Ashes 2025, Mark Wood reported tightness in his left hamstring. Despite the pain and discomfort, he was clocking 150kph in the warm-up match, enough to scare Cameron Green for what’s to come in the official Tests.
But his consistent issues with his knee and hamstring are the injuries that require heavy strapping. For a soon-to-be 36-year-old, recovery is not easy. While England’s stance is understandable, Wood, on the other hand, is their best bet to level the series.
He has played only 38 Tests in a decade, but he has 119 wickets with five five-wicket hauls and three four-fers. Wood’s white-ball form isn’t as fancy, with a total of 130 wickets in 108 ODIs and T20Is combined. But his returns with the red ball make him a world-class bowler.
Simply for the sake of saving this series, England would take all the measures, even if it means limited appearances for Mark Wood, but a higher chance of returning with the urn in January 2026.
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