Mark Wood misses the rest of the Ashes series due to injury, which is a major injury blow for England.
Wood featured in the first Test in Perth but injured his left knee and played just 11 balls before being announced as sidelined before the defeat in Brisbane.
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The 35-year-old, who missed the entire England summer while recovering from knee surgery for nine months, has been ruled out of the entire series, with skipper Ben Stokes without his most experienced seamer and fastest bowler as England look to fight back from 2-0 down.
Surrey’s Matthew Fisher has been called up for the third Test in Adelaide on December 17. Fisher has one cap to his country, coming in 2022 when Yorkshire toured the West Indies in the absence of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
Matthew Fisher earns a Test cap in Barbados (Getty Images)
While not as fast as Wood, Fisher enjoyed an impressive first season in the Surrey County Championship after moving south, despite the England Lions not taking a wicket in a shock defeat to Australia A-League in Brisbane this week.
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Meanwhile, Australia has confirmed that Josh Hazlewood will not star in the series. The 34-year-old fast bowler suffered a hamstring problem before the Ashes and now has an Achilles problem.
It is hoped that Hazlewood will be back for the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka in February.
“(I) really like him,” head coach Andrew McDonald said of Hazlewood.
Australia’s Josh Hazlewood to miss remaining Ashes matches (PA Archive)
“Some setbacks that we didn’t foresee. We thought he was going to play a big role in this series but really feel bad for him that he’s not going to get that opportunity.”
Even better news for MacDonald is that captain Pat Cummins is set to return to the Australian squad as they look to seal the series at Adelaide Oval.
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Cummins was treated with caution due to his back injury, but he is now considered ready to compete.
“We feel like the simulations in the net have prepared him technically. His body is ready,” McDonald said.
“Barring anything else happening next week, I expect Pat to flip the coin and put on his suit jacket.
“He was at Allen Border when everyone was at the Gabba; he almost simulated what a game would be like with multiple spells.
Pat Cummins will lead Australia in Adelaide (Getty Images for Cricket Austral)
“Pat won’t have any game opportunities (before Adelaide) and that’s what we did with Pat before he was laid off long-term, we put some time and effort into rebuilding his body.
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“So we feel like he’s going to be as prepared as possible.”
Only one team in Test history has won a Test series from 2-0 down, the Australian side in the 1936/37 Ashes home series led by Don Bradman.