England speedster Mark Wood has revealed that he does not expect to play all five Test matches in the Ashes against Australia. He understands how Brendon McCullum manages the workload of the bowlers and feels that he will only be used when they will require a pace element.
He in his recent interaction with ESPNCricinfo shared how exhausting it was for him to play four Test matches in the previous Ashes. However he was happy to contribute and surprised to know that he could push himself so much physically in such a big series.
Wood who is currently with the Three Lions in Bangladesh has been one of England’s biggest assets in their bowling department which has helped them become a major force in the sport across different formats.
He revealed that he may not play the entire Ashes series which is scheduled to be held in June in England. He even said that playing four test matches will also be a surprise for him. He understands that captain Ben Stokes and coach McCullum will only look towards him when they particularly need someone of high pace.
“I will definitely not play all five. I was delighted to play four out of five in Australia. I was knackered, wrecked, exhausted but that was a big tick in my box to say that in a big series, I can do it, if Stokesy or Baz want me to play. I probably won’t even play four. They might even want me for one or two, if they need a pace element,” Wood said in his interaction with Cricinfo.
England have lost two of the last three Ashes series and have won held the urn since 2015. Hence they will be desperate to prove a point here especially with their new ‘Bazball’ style of play.
Wood was on a prolonged break before he returned to play again in the Tour of Bangladesh. While he enjoys a prolonged break, he also takes a lot of pride in playing for England. “I am never going to turn down the chance to play for England: if they want me I will be there and trying my best, but if they decide to rest us, I get it and will be gearing up for the next one.”
He shared that it was lovely spending time with family and not think about cricket actually increases the hunger to play cricket again and do well. “It was lovely, to be honest. To be able to spend time at home and not think about cricket for a little bit was really nice. It’s made us hungrier when I’ve come back in. The breaks have helped prolong me a bit more than previous years, when I’ve tried to play everything,” the experienced pacer shared.
The Three Lions have already wrapped up the ODI series against Bangladesh as they already have one eye towards the ODI World Cup later this year in India.
