Mark Wood England’s veteran pace attack force is raising his game to recovery. He had knee surgery this past spring. At 35 years old, Wood had the procedure in early March. To add further worry for the Wanamaker family, he will be sidelined for most of the summer.
Wood was originally projected to miss at least four months of game time. This timing would see his return just in time for the India Test series on home soil, that concludes at the end of July. Even with this turnaround, though, Wood is still holding out hope to be back with his teammates for this vital series.
I would hope to try to play a couple of games in July for Durham, then put myself forward for the England stuff, but that’s a long way away to look,” Wood stated regarding his aspirations to return to the pitch.
Wood’s dedication to the sport is evident in his rigorous training regimen under the guidance of head coach Ben Stokes and assistant coach Brendon McCullum. His overriding ambition, he insisted, remains helping England win. Still, he admitted, reaching this goal all depends on one major aspect—his health.
“I need to get my body in a good place to achieve my goal,” Wood remarked, reinforcing his commitment to returning to peak performance.
The fast bowling great takes issue with the way the media has turned into an anti-England echo chamber. He’s especially peeved by the golfing, golfing, golfing. While he understands the intrigue behind these conversations, he believes they take away from the effort and commitment that the players have put into their craft. Although he doesn’t give detailed examples of what annoys him, his tone brooks no argument as to how he feels.
We can be somewhat idealistic at times. In the end we often talk in the media that makes us sound like idiots. As he remarked, the franchise is often its own worst enemy.
In spite of these frustrations though, Wood made it clear that he is not trying to throw his teammates under the bus. “I don’t particularly like that. We’ve got to be respectful. I’m not kicking off at the other players,” he added, demonstrating both accountability and a desire for unity within the squad.
And as Wood aims to make a comeback to competitive cricket, both fans and analysts will be paying close attention to his recovery. His potential involvement in the Test series against India could be pivotal for both his career and England’s performance on the international stage.
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