Luke Wood entered his name into an elite list on his T20I return in the second match against West Indies on Sunday, June 8. Coming into the place of pacer Matthew Potts, left-arm speedster, Wood took a wicket off the first ball of the match at the County Ground, Bristol.
Wood nailed a perfect yorker on his T20I return as he caught Evin Lewis plumb for an LBW. Wood went full with his late swing as Lewis tried to defend it back, however, he was outdone with the length and was caught off guard by the first ball.
The left-arm pacer got his man to enter a rare list of England players taking a wicket off the first ball of a T20I match. Wood has become just the third England player to take a wicket off the first ball of a T20I match. He joins compatriots Steve Finn and David Willey as the third English bowler to have achieved the feat.
England bowlers to take wicket off first ball of a T20I match:
1 - Steve Finn: in 2012 against South Africa
2 - David Willey: in 2017 against South Africa
3 - David Willey: in 2019 against West Indies
4 - Luke Wood: in 2025 against West Indies
Meanwhile, the hosts had won the toss and had opted to bowl first. The Windies have made one change to their Playing XI too with Akeal Hosein coming in for Andre Russell. Akeal had arrived in UK in the morning only due to his visa issues and got a place in the team.
West Indies's Playing XI: Evin Lewis, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope(w/c), Roston Chase, Sherfane Rutherford, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph
England's Playing XI: Jamie Smith, Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler(w), Harry Brook(c), Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Brydon Carse, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood
