T20 World Cup 2022: Fast bowler Mark Wood gives England injury scare ahead of semifinal against India

England and India will square off against each other in the second semifinal of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday. Ahead of the all-important clash, England have received a massive injury blow.

Fast bowler Mark Wood is suffering from general stiffness and, therefore, did not participate in the penultimate practice session on Tuesday, which raised questions about his availability for the big game in Adelaide.

Wood has been outstanding for England at the 2022 T20 World Cup, taking nine wickets at an average of 12 while being the fastest bowler on show at the ongoing tournament.

Tymal Mills will be the most like-for-like replacement if Wood misses the game against India, with the left-armer also able to bowl at an extreme pace.

Earlier in the day, India also survived a scare ahead of their semifinal game against England as captain Rohit Sharma sustained a powerful blow on his right hand during the training session, but it did not turn out to be a serious injury.

Rohit was facing the team’s throwdown expert S Raghu in the nets at the Adelaide Oval when a short ball jumped off the length area and hit his right hand. After applying an ice pack to his injured hand and resting for a while, Rohit resumed practice. According to ANI, the Indian skipper is doing fine and should bat in the semifinal match on Thursday.

The England versus India semifinal clash will take place on a wicket used twice in this competition, for last Friday’s double-header between New Zealand and Ireland and Australia’s encounter against Afghanistan. A used wicket is likely to mean that the team winning the toss would opt to bat first.