LONDON, (Reuters) – England have added two pace bowlers to their 14-man squad for the fourth test against Australia starting at Trent Bridge on Thursday as possible replacements for the injured James Anderson.
Liam Plunkett and uncapped Mark Footitt were called up after Anderson sustained a side injury during England’s victory at Edgbaston which put them 2-1 ahead in the five-match Ashes series.
“With James Anderson missing this test through injury and some concerns over Mark Wood’s workload in the build-up to the last test we felt that bringing in two extra bowlers in Liam Plunkett and Mark Footitt was necessary,” national selector James Whitaker said in a statement yesterday.
“The reports on Wood are positive at this stage and we are hopeful he’ll be available for selection on Thursday.”
Plunkett has played 13 tests, most recently against India last July, but Derbyshire left-armer Footitt is uncapped at international level.
Squad: Alastair Cook (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Mark Footitt, Adam Lyth, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Mark Wood.