Paul Collingwood praises England's unity and issues update on bowling attack

GEORGE DOBELL: The England head coach was "really impressed" with Jack Leach's performance in Antigua but admits Mark Wood is an injury doubt for the second Test

Mark Wood is "unlikely" to play in Barbados, according to England head coach, Paul Collingwood.

Wood was forced off the pitch on the second day in Antigua after experiencing pain in his right elbow and was unable to take any further part in the match. While he attempted to bowl in the nets ahead of the final day, he suffered "acute pain", in the words of an England spokesperson, and abandoned the training session.

Although Wood has today [Sunday] flown to Barbados with the rest of the squad, it seems there is little home of him playing in the second Test which starts on Wednesday. A decision on whether he plays in the third and final Test, which is scheduled to start in Grenada on March 24, may depend on the results of scans he is expected to undergo in the coming days.

"You would have to say it is unlikely he will play in Barbados," Collingwood said. "He is sore and he did not bowl in the second innings in Antigua.

"But you never know. We are going to have to get to Barbados, have a look at him then and see what he is going to be like for the rest of the series.

"A scan would be the sensible option. There is an impingement there so I’m sure we will have further investigations. We are going to have to see what the investigation says."

^{Mark Wood (centre) is "unlikely" to play in Barbados [Gareth Copley/Getty Images]}

Collingwood had better news of Ollie Robinson, though. Robinson was unavailable for the Barbados Test after suffering back pain during the warm-up match. But he has returned to bowling in the last few days and was at something like full pace in training on Saturday. As a result, the England camp are quietly optimistic he will be able to return to the side for the Barbados Test.

"Ollie is looking pretty positive at the moment," Collingwood said. "His recovery has been excellent. The backroom staff have done a great job and he bowled a couple of spells on Saturday and is getting the ball through really well.

"We also have Saqib Mahmood and Matt Fisher here as well, so we are not planning to call up anyone as cover as yet. We will have to wait and see how Woody is in Barbados."

As things stand, England may decide to simply replace Wood with Robinson in the side for the second Test. That would leave them looking one-paced, though, so Saqib could come into the side in place of either Chris Woakes or, more likely, Craig Overton. Liam Norwell, who is understood to be the seam bowling reserve, could be called up if the team management feel they require extra cover.

One man who looks certain to retain his place is Jack Leach. There were never too many doubts about Leach’s ability to perform a role for England on pitches offering him assistance, but he has sometimes struggled to fulfil a holding role on surfaces offering him little.

He did that well in Antigua, however. He delivered more than 73 overs, conceding an average 1.84 runs per over, as well as claiming five wickets. Collingwood described it as a "great Test" for him.

"I was really impressed with the way he held the game on a wicket that didn’t turn off the straight," Collingwood said. "I’m delighted that he’s been able to do a holding role for us. That’s good signs for the future.

"Giving him that extra responsibility as a voice and a leader in the dressing-room, he seems to be thriving off that. They’re great signs. His accuracy right through the Test was brilliant and he caused problems. That’s a great Test match for him."

^{Jack Leach had a "great Test" [Gareth Copley/Getty Images]}

Collingwood was also full of praise for the leadership of Joe Root. As well as scoring a century in Antigua – his 24th in Test cricket and his 13th as England captain – he made an enterprising declaration and marshalled his bowling resources pretty well on a desperately flat surface.

"You can sense that he’s got everybody behind him," Collingwood said. "There’s a real unity. We’ve got a direction, we’ve got clarity, we’re very honest with our conversations at the start of the tour and he looks as though he’s enjoying his cricket.

"He’s playing with a smile on his face and hopefully he can keep putting in performances like he has in this Test match. You really sense a unity in the side and that’s positive thing and it will bring us good results.

"We’ve had a good week. But we’ve got to build on that. There have been so many good signs but we want to keep that as the benchmark. Our ground-fielding was superb, our energy, our fitness levels, that’s a good sign of where a team is. Two hard days in the field, the boys kept plugging away.

"They are great signs but it’s 0-0 and we need to turn up in Barbados with the same attitude and character, and desire: all the things that win you Test matches. That performance level will give us a good chance."

Olly Stone, who was training with the England squad in Antigua, has now flown back to the UK. He looked as if he was progressing nicely in his recovery from a stress fracture, but a return to competitive cricket is probably still a couple of months away. Jofra Archer, who has been in Barbados anyway, will link up with the squad for training over the next few days.