India vs England: Mark Wood is an 'impact builder', says Ben Stokes ahead of first Test

England skipper Ben Stokes has termed pacer Mark Wood as an “impact builder” and said that Wood was preferred over James Anderson due to his ability to bowl at 150 kilometres per hour. England announced their playing XI for the first Test, and the highlight of that was naming three spinners with only one pacer. The track at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad is expected to produce some turn as the match progresses.

“Obviously, what he brings with his high pace…he is a real impact builder. Bowling the 90 mile an hour with a reversing ball is obviously going to be very difficult to play against. He’s another weapon which you can use out here with short, sharp spells, wanting him to be bowling as fast as he can and short periods. There’re no worries about these long spells because that’s how we’re going to use him this week,” Stokes said during the pre-match press conference on Wednesday.

Stokes went onto say that Anderson has taken his omission from the first Test in a professional manner.

“Jimmy’s incredible professional. You never know how conditions might change and what you might feel as the best setup for your team. But now we’re not looking at having to manage Jimmy or his workloads or anything like that. You know, we put him in the spot because we think he’s one of the best performers,” said Stokes.

Stokes has also said that he will not bowl in the upcoming series, with the all-rounder still recovering from a knee surgery.

Meanwhile, Jack Leach, Rehan Ahmed and debutant Tom Hartley headline the three spinners in the England XI for the first Test.

“I don’t necessarily think it’s bold or brave. It’s just me and Baz (McCullum) looking at the wicket and picking the XI that we think will give us the best chance. You have always got to think that the ball is going to turn in India, but you don’t want to go in with any preconceived ideas. We have to adapt,” Stokes said on England’s decision to field three spinners in the first Test.

The first Test begins in Hyderabad from Thursday.