The Ashes: England quick Mark Wood set for scans after reporting hamstring stiffness

England’s Ashes hopes are already in disarray with Mark Wood injured and their B team fleecing their first-choice bowlers for nearly 400 runs in a day at Lilac Hill Park.

The tourists’ injury-prone fast bowling enforcer lasted just eight overs in an embarrassing warm-up clash with the English Lions before succumbing to a hamstring complaint.

Wood has been touted as England’s great hope of regaining the Ashes urn for the first time in a decade, but he is now in doubt to even play after one day of action in the side’s only warm-up fixture in the latest of a long line of injuries.

And it could spell disaster for the tourists, with skipper Ben Stokes, who took six wickets, the only other bowler capable of backing up the Bazball bravado, with the Lions taking down a frontline pace attack for 382. Stokes, playing his first match since injuring his shoulder in July, claimed 6-52 off 16 overs

In his first red-ball outing in nine months after knee surgery, Wood bowled two four-over spells, one in the morning session and one in the second.

However, he departed the field as soon as he finished his eighth over.

It was initially thought he was taking on fluids, but his absence lingered into the final two-hour session, prompting a statement from England revealing he will be sent for “precautionary scans” on his left hamstring on Friday, potentially ruling him out of the remainder of the game at Lilac Hill at a minimum.

“The plan for Mark Wood was for him to bowl eight overs today,” a spokesman for the ECB said.

“He has some stiffness in his hamstring, which has kept him off the field for some time during the second session of the first day and will undergo a precautionary scan tomorrow.

“He is expected to bowl again in two days’ time. It is unlikely he will return to the field today.”

Wood arrived in Australia with a lingering knee issue that pained him during early training sessions last week.

“That’s not ideal, is it?,” batter Harry Brooks said after play.

“But that’s a part of being an extremely fast bowler. I haven’t seen him yet or spoken to him, so I don’t know, and we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

Wood’s eight overs were fruitless anyway, with Stokes the only bowler with any impetus despite a scare that saw him flat on the turf in the field.

England rolled out a full-strength fast bowling contingent in a hint at a spinner-less line-up for the Optus Stadium clash with Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue alongside Wood.

And they were eager to start answering the questions surrounding Archer’s fitness from the off after his lackadaisical build-up was criticised, handing him six overs up front.

But despite a few balls rising at the opening batters, he failed to get a breakthrough with Atkinson also going wicketless with the new ball.

The arrival of Stokes changed the game, grabbing two wickets in an extended first spell, including Jacob Bethell, who is in the frame to play in Perth should England lose faith in Ollie Pope.

Wood looked sharp in his opening spell before Tongue ended a punchy innings from Ben McKinney on 67 straight after the lunch break.

Wood’s second spell had Essex batter Jordan Cox floored after jamming down on a searing yorker and losing his balance.

But he looked as good as anyone, with the former Melbourne Renegade scoring a rapid 53 before falling trying to hit Stokes for six.

England’s struggles followed them into the field with nearly a dozen catches missed, including a basic high ball by Archer.

Salt was rubbed into the wounds when 17-year-old Thomas Rew, who hasn’t even managed a first-class debut, hit an easy 55.

No faith was shown in spinner Shoaib Bashir, the off-spinner parked with the Lions, but part-time spinner Joe Root was hit for 117 from his 14 woeful overs.

The pitch itself did England no favours, playing low and slow, as it’s known to do, vastly different to the pace and bounce they will face against Australia.

England’s preparation has also been fiercely questioned back on home soil, with many English greats suggesting they are leaving themselves unprepared for a baptism of fire at Optus Stadium next week.

However, captain Stokes caused a stir, calling them “has beens” as he defended his side’s light training camp.

“There’s quite a few factors that play into why we can’t prepare how the has beens maybe prepared in the past,” Stokes said.

“I don’t really know what we’re supposed to do, to be honest. Come the 21st of this month, we know that we would’ve done everything that is possible that we could’ve done to be in the right place.”