England’s bowling attack in crisis as Lord’s Test against Ireland approaches

England are facing a bowling crisis at the start of the Test campaign, with Jimmy Anderson and Ollie Robinson ruled out of this week’s match against Ireland at Lord’s and Mark Wood also a doubt. Ben Stokes’s ability to drag his injured knee through a few overs is also sufficiently uncertain that all Brendon McCullum, the England coach, would say on the subject was that “I think he’ll bowl at some stage throughout the summer”.

Wood bowled during the team’s first training session at Lord’s on Monday and though England will not be inclined to take any risks with the first Ashes Test little over a fortnight away he could yet play on Thursday. “He looks like he is going all right. We’ll have to monitor it,” McCullum said.

Interestingly, he also suggested the returning Jonny Bairstow may move up the order to further minimise Stokes’s workload, saying the keeper would bat “at six or seven depending on which way we go with the skip”.

Anderson and Robinson are expected to be fit for the start of the Ashes, but at present the only bowlers over whom England have no injury concerns are Stuart Broad, Matt Potts, Chris Woakes and Josh Tongue, whose chances of making a debut continue to improve. “He’s obviously a bit of a rough diamond,” McCullum said of the 25-year-old. “We think he’s got something really exciting. Whether he plays in this Test or throughout the summer I’m not sure, but he is another one who looks like he has an immense amount of talent.”

McCullum is convinced England have the resources to cope with a hectic schedule, six Tests in the space of eight weeks. “When I took over this job people said there was a lack of talent and depth within English cricket – I totally disagree with that,” he said. “There’s an immense