England all-rounder Moeen Ali believes fast bowler Mark Wood is absolutely ready to fire in the ongoing Ashes series after he has impressed with the bounce in a two-day tour game in Perth. Wood was dropped from a 16-man England Test squad, but there have been speculations that he might soon be parachuted into their playing xi during the Ashes series.
The pacer's inclusion in the squad for the third Test in Perth looks unlikely, with coach Trevor Bayliss hinting that he is most likely to go with an unchanged squad that slumped to a huge 120-run defeat against Australia at the Adelaide Oval.
However, Moeen insisted that Wood is fit and firing and has proved with his performance in the warm-up match that he is absolutely ready for a Test recall.
"It was a slow pitch and I felt like he bowled quite quick - obviously he was the quickest of both teams. His pace was right up there compared to how quick we know he can bowl. It wasn't just the pace, his control was fantastic as well," cricket.com.au quoted Moeen, as saying.
"He feels very confident in his own game and feels like he's ready and back to his best. I was really impressed with how he bowled," he added.
Wood bagged two wickets by conceding 62 runs from 16 overs in the two-day clash, which England won by 192 runs against Cricket Australia XI in Perth.
(With Agency Inputs)
