England fast bowler Mark Wood said he wondered at one point if he would have to focus on white-ball cricket only, with the amount of injuries hampering his career.
Wood produced one of his best performances in red-ball cricket in the Multan Test against Pakistan to hand England a historic series win. However, things haven’t been easy for the speedster with plenty of injuries to deal with, and admitted that he had concerns he would have to play white-ball cricket only.
He was exceptional on the final day of the Multan Test by 26 runs, where he broke open the match with fiery stuff and picked 4 for 65. He picked 2 for 40 in the first innings and hammered 36 off 27 on the first day.
The player has had a couple of elbow operations and an injured hip, keeping him out of important matches. The quick bowler hadn’t played a Test since March and had to miss the semi-final and final in the T20 World Cup due to a hip injury. When asked about whether he ever thought of specialising in white-ball cricket only, Wood said:
“Well, in fact, yes. I wondered if I’d go white-ball only. At some point my body will say that it’s the way to go but I didn’t prepare for white-ball, I prepared for all cricket. I desperately wanted to experience all this, with Stokesy and Brendon, so I’m pleased I’ve stuck with it. And I’m pleased we won here.”
Wood was all praise for captain Ben Stokes, who he has been close friends with since the age of 15. The two have grown together since joining the Durham academy and even Wood was surprised with how much Stokes has matured in his role as captain on and off the field.
“He was this alpha guy who would whack it, never back down. He’s still got all that, but he’s got other sides to him now. He’ll put an arm round people, express what he means really articulately. I didn’t think he had some of the words in his locker. But he’s been world-class, to be fair.”
