England spearhead Mark Wood brushes off hamstring scare ahead of first test in Perth against Australia

“I was batting next to Smudge [Jamie Smith] when he was facing Woody, and he was definitely getting it through,” Tongue said. “If his body’s all good and the management think he’s good to go I don’t see why not [he’d play in Perth].”

Even if Wood is not chosen in the team for the first Test, his ability to bounce back quickly from the hamstring scare means he is still on track to play a significant role in the series, having been England’s outstanding pace bowler in each of their past two Ashes campaigns.

Wood put young England batter Jacob Bethel and an assortment of other squad players through their paces in a spell of six overs in around 30 minutes.

With England’s bowling coach David Saker speaking to him at the back of the nets between deliveries, Wood wore a compression sleeve on his left leg, the source of a knee injury this year and the hamstring scare last week.

After a jog and then a handful of warm-up deliveries, Wood bowled off his full run, beating the bat once or twice, and forcing Bethel to take rapid evasive action with the occasional short ball.

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Later in Wood’s training stint, England skipper Ben Stokes stepped into the umpire’s position to watch his spearhead closely, at one stage theatrically signalling dead ball when Wood aborted one run to the crease.

England head coach Brendon McCullum stroked his goatee while having a chat with team director Rob Key as they both watched Wood steam in. Key later went to speak to Saker.

A Bluetooth speaker blared tracks by U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Green Day in the background – Wood’s fitness to take the field this series will be a major factor in whether the 2025–26 Ashes are a hit or a flop for Stokes’ team.

Later, Stokes took his own turn in the nets and was hit in the midriff by a ball from left-armer Josh Hull. On his knees in pain for a few moments, Stokes waved away medical attention before resuming his practice with a grimace. Smith said he had contemplated how to deal with the short ball on bigger grounds in Australia this summer.

“One thing you do have here compared to back home at times is true bounce throughout,” Smith said. “At times in the [home] summer when the wickets are a bit slower, it can come out a little bit two-paced, and it makes it a little bit harder. Hopefully here with truer bounce it is slightly easier.”

Jofra Archer, England’s other fast bowling thoroughbred, did not bowl on Tuesday but is expected to do so at the squad’s main session on Wednesday.

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