England's Cricket World Cup triumph came at a price — with Mark Wood and Jofra Archer both crocked just 14 days before the Ashes start.

Wood has been ruled out for four to six weeks after suffering a side strain in Sunday’s thrilling Super-Over final against New Zealand.

And Archer, fast-tracked into the England set-up in the nick of time to become a World Cup winner, flew to his native Barbados on Wednesday for a week-long break nursing a similar but less serious injury.

England must now revise the plan to unleash their two fastest bowlers against the Aussies in the Ashes opener, which starts at Edgbaston on August 1.

Wood's injury is likely to keep him out of the England ranks until the third Ashes Test at the earliest (
Image:
Getty)

A third key bowler, England’s record wicket-taker Jimmy Anderson, will be given a ‘live’ fitness Test in next week’s inaugural Test against Ireland having suffering a calf strain playing for Lancashire this month.

Unveiling the squad to face Ireland at Lord's, national selector Ed Smith said: “Mark Wood is injured, Jofra Archer is unavailable. At the moment it looks like Mark will be unavailable for longer than Jofra but we will monitor those situations.”

Wood, who peaked at 95.7mph on the speed gun in the World Cup Final – the quickest delivery by an England bowler since Steve Harmison’s 96.8mph in the Champions Trophy against West Indies 15 years ago – is unlikely to be available until at least the third Test at Headingley.

England are more optimistic about Archer but he may not be ready for the start of the Ashes (
Image:
AFP/Getty)

Archer, whose 20 wickets in 11 games and super-over heroics were such vital components of England’s historic triumph at the weekend, faces a race to be fit for next month’s first skirmish with the Aussies.

Asked when Archer would be available, Smith said: “We don’t know that at the moment – he has a side injury. Jofra’s having a bit of a break now because he has played a lot of cricket and he has been a central protagonist in one of the great stories in sport.

“He’s having a break for a week and then he will get every medical attention that we can give him to get him fit as soon as possible. I wouldn’t say we will see him play Test cricket this summer, I just don’t know. But what I will say is that we’re very excited about him and what he can do in all formats.”

poll loading

Will England reclaim the Ashes this summer?