England's frontline pace options for the Test summer are rapidly dwindling after injuries ruled both Mark Wood and Olly Stone out of action for the start of the international season. Here are the bowlers who could play Test matches for England this summer.
Frontline Picks
With both Wood and Stone out of the picture for the India series, England are left with four of the bowlers who made up their attack for the majority of the winter. Chris Woakes went into the winter looking to improve his overseas credentials, and broadly did so with eight wickets across three Tests. There's also England's find of the winter in Brydon Carse, who should recover from a toe injury picked up in the Champions Trophy in time for the India Tests. Carse made his Test debut in Pakistan and took 27 wickets over six matches by the end of the New Zealand series. Despite a difficult period with the white ball in India and in the Champions Trophy, he will be an integral part of England's plans over the next nine months.
There's also last summer's golden boy Gus Atkinson, who after taking 34 wickets across his debut summer will test himself against a sterner opposition this summer. And, having played England's last Test in New Zealand and been consistently dipping in and out of Test squads over the last couple of years, Matt Potts will also likely make up part of the bowling core.
Returning faces
The most talked about return this summer will likely be the question of when or if Jofra Archer will be in Test whites once again. While England have openly long-stated their target for Archer to be available for selection for the India series, those plans hit a stumbling block when the ECB were forced to allow him to enter the IPL this year. The overlap of the series with the English summer means Archer will likely not be available for the first part of the India series, assuming the ECB won't parachute him in devoid of red-ball practice. Later in the series, however, Archer's selection could come into play, particularly if England management still have an eye on him for the Ashes in the winter.
Another potential return could go to Josh Tongue. The Notts pacer impressed when he made his Test debut at Lord's in 2023, but injuries have since prevented him from playing most competitive cricket available. However, he got through a series for the Lions in Australia earlier this year, and lined-up for Notts in their opening County Championship fixture of the year against Durham today. Also on the county circuit is Ollie Robinson, who is part of a strong Sussex bowling attack key to their chances of staying up in Division One. Robinson has long been out of favour with England, with his fitness and work ethic under question. However, he remains one of the best bowlers in the country and perhaps enough time has passed to make a possible return to the national set-up more palatable. Josh Hull could also make a reappearance. Having been picked as a wildcard against Sri Lanka last summer, he hasn't played a senior international game since.
A good news story would be Saqib Mahmood earning a Test cap on home soil. Mahmood made his debut during the Test series in the West Indies which followed the 2021/22 Ashes hammering. While he was one of the bright spots of that tour, he suffered a stress fracture in his back soon after which ruled him out for the 2022 season. After several setbacks, he finally made his international white-ball comeback over the winter. A Test comeback would mark a high point in his tricky career journey.
Olly Stone will miss the India Test series but is working towards full fitness by August 2025.#Cricket #ENGvsIND pic.twitter.com/4Tgxb4M0js
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) April 4, 2025
New possibilities
The ever present question over whether Sam Cook will receive a Test cap will surely once again raise its head over the summer. Cook has been a standout bowler for Essex over several years, and his skills with the Kookaburra make him particularly attractive considering the Ashes tour next winter. Cook spent the winter with England Lions in Australia in an attempt to further his case for international honours, against the grain of the quicker type of bowlers England have favoured over the last two years.
Dillon Pennington was selected in England squad that faced the West Indies last summer, but did not make his Test debut. He sustained a hamstring injury in The Hundred which ruled him out of the rest of the international summer. There's also Dan Worrall, who qualifies for England selection this summer. Despite having been name-checked by Rob Key as a potential England option, Worrall admitted pre-season that he was 'probably not' in consideration for the Ashes later in the year.
Wildcard options
Along with those mentioned above, Rob Key and Brendon McCullum have been known to take a punt on a player outside of the selection hierarchy. Andrew Flintoff was in charge of a Lions squad in Australia over the winter which had some options for that kind of selection. The most obvious of these is Sonny Baker, who was awarded a development contract with England after his performances Down Under. Baker took eight wickets over two games in the series, and was praised by Flintoff for "the theatre and magic he creates on the pitch".
Also on that tour was Worcestershire pacer Mitch Stanley, who has yet to play a first-class game, Surrey prospect Tom Lawes, and Hampshire quick John Turner. Turner has been picked in several England white-ball squads over the last two years, and finally made his debut in the Caribbean over the winter. He has yet to be named in a Test squad, and injuries – as well as a strong Hampshire attack – have prevented him from getting consistent red-ball gametime.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
