England are set to be without Mark Wood for the third straight game at the T20 World Cup in Saturday’s crunch clash with Australia in Dubai.
Both sides have won their first two matches, with Australia easing past Sri Lanka on Thursday, and victory all but ensures qualification for the semi-finals with two Super 12 matches remaining.
Wood had an injection in his ankle before England’s opener against West Indies and also sat out the win over Bangladesh on Tuesday.
He looks overwhelmingly unlikely to play on Saturday, but it is hoped he could feature in Monday’s match against Sri Lanka. The short turnaround means that England are likely to want to tweak their team for that fixture.
With the Ashes looming, Wood is a vital player for England this winter, so they want to take no risks.
Tom Curran, the reserve seamer, has also been sitting out with a knee injury and will not play on Saturday.
Australia kicked their campaign into life with a thumping victory that saw David Warner return to form with 65 from 42 balls. Pat Cummins, the vice-captain, predicts his team-mate will be in the runs again this weekend.
“He’s a big-game player” he said. “I’m sure tomorrow you’ll see him puffing his chest out and he’s someone that our whole team absolutely loves playing alongside.
“We all go with him and back him up. It’s fantastic to see him back in the runs, we always knew they weren’t far away.”
