Wood suffered a right thigh muscle strain in the series opener at Old Trafford that ruled him out of the remainder of the series. England won the match by five wickets on Saturday. On day three, he left the field immediately after bowling two deliveries into his 11th over in Sri Lanka's second innings and did not bowl on day four.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWhen you get on a flat pitch, Mark Wood is the most important player for England\u2019s Test match team. Yes, even more than Ben Stokes. Wood is that good \u2013 and his injury that rules him out of the rest of the series against Sri Lanka is a blow.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cStokes is a colossus. Talismanic, an incredible leader, a brilliant player. But I just can\u2019t see how England can replace Wood. He\u2019s just got something very special about him,\u201d wrote Vaughan in his column for The Telegraph.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He further cited Sri Lanka\u2019s second innings on day four\u2019s play as an example of where England will miss Wood. With Wood unavailable to bowl, Sri Lanka's Kamindu Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal batted through the morning session and gave England a target of 205, which they achieved with five wickets remaining.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cHow much England miss him was evident on the fourth morning with that fantastic partnership from Dinesh Chandimal and Kamindu Mendis when the pitch got flat and it became much easier for batting. We might get a lot of those conditions in the next year or so \u2013 definitely in Pakistan, and maybe a bit in New Zealand too. England need to find a way to take 20 wickets on wickets like that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Vaughan further explained what makes Wood standout from other England fast bowlers. \u201cThe point of difference that Wood brings is so important. England have got to wrap him in cotton wool to try and get him available for 60 or 70 per cent of Tests in the next year. Realistically, having Wood available that much would be a great outcome for England. A bowler like him is never going to be able to play every single game.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWood is now the most important cog in this England Test match wheel for them to go and beat India, for them to go and win in Australia. He\u2019s the player that opponents would most like to see not in the England side.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cEven Jofra Archer, who is fantastic, doesn\u2019t bowl 95mph. This is a guy that is doing something that we\u2019ve never seen in English cricket. There\u2019s not many around the world that bowled at Wood\u2019s pace with that amount of ferocity. Every time he\u2019s come on to bowl this summer, he\u2019s made something happen.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWood is now the most important cog in this England Test match wheel for them to go and beat India, for them to go and win in Australia. He\u2019s the player that opponents would most like to see not in the England side.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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