The Ashes: England’s Mark Wood leaves field with tight hamstring in Lions tour match

He appeared to be in good spirits as he jokingly left the field after hitting England Lions Jordan Cox, whom he caught on the boundary.

However, any injury to Wood would be a huge concern for England given his injury history.

Wood has not played a Test since August 2024 when he was ruled out for the rest of the year with an elbow injury.

He returned to white-ball cricket earlier this year but suffered a knee injury in the Champions Trophy, which later required surgery.

The hamstring issue is on the leg where Wood had knee surgery.

The tour match against the Lions was Wood’s first cricket match of any kind in nine months and his first in the whites for 15 months.

However, with a slow shot, he instantly accelerated to high speed, reaching 91 mph in his first spell.

England’s selection for the tour game appeared to hint at their plans for the first Test, with Wood featuring in the five-man pace attack and Shoaib Bashir returning in the front line to play for the Lions.

Spin’s role in Tests in Australia has diminished in recent years and Optus Stadium, the venue for the first Test against Australia on 21 November, is particularly suited to the seam.

Another English pace bowler, Brydon Carse, missed the first day of the tour match due to illness, but is expected to join the game in the coming days.

England captain Ben Stokes claimed four wickets in the first two sessions in his first match since July.

The all-rounder has been out of action since missing the final Test of the series against India due to a shoulder injury.

Australia captain and fast bowler Pat Cummins is out of the first Test with a back injury, while fellow seamer Josh Hazlewood has recovered from a hamstring problem following an injury scare on Wednesday.