The chances of Mark Wood being fit for the Ashes have been boosted after the England fast bowler revealed he plans to make his return from injury next month in the County Championship.
The 35-year-old has not played for six months, since suffering a knee injury in the Champions Trophy in February. He has not played a Test match for more than a year, but England are hoping that he will be a key part of their attack for the Ashes series, which begins in mid-November.
Wood remains England’s fastest bowler and although he is unlikely to be able to play in all five of the Tests down under, he is a vital part of their plan to hit Australia with pace — alongside Jofra Archer, who returned to Test cricket for the first time in four years against India this summer.
Wood suffered a knee injury in the Champions Trophy and has not played a Test for more than a year
MATTHEW LEWIS-ICC/ICC VIA GETTY IMAGES
It was originally the plan for Wood to return to action in the fifth Test of the India series, which was drawn 2-2, but he suffered a setback and is now targeting a return with Durham, who have fixtures against Essex, Worcestershire and Yorkshire in September. Wood has not been named in any of England’s white-ball squads to play against South Africa and Ireland.
“I’m hoping to play for Durham as there are a couple of games in September — so I’ll try to play one or two of those,” Wood told Betfair’s Stick to Cricket podcast. “The injury is all right. It was 50/50 whether I was going to make the India Test, but I was bowling at Lord’s and then, the next day, my knee swelled up again so I had it drained and since then it’s just been about taking things easy looking ahead to the winter.
“I’ve been well looked after and very cautious. That’s the way it’s been. I value it as they have this end game where they want me to get to Australia. But I said to Baz [Brendon] McCullum, I can’t just bowl to a net for four months — I’ll go insane. There’s a bowling camp in Loughborough in a tent getting acclimatised there.”
The plan is for Wood, who has taken 119 wickets at an average of 30.42 for England — and averages 26.64 in Australia — to arrive in Perth in an advance party alongside an England Lions squad and some of the other bowlers who won’t be involved in the limited-overs series in New Zealand in late October. England have scheduled only one warm-up game — against the Lions development side — before the start of the Ashes on November 21.
Ben Stokes, the Test captain, is not expected to play any cricket before that warm-up match. He is recovering from a grade-three muscle tear around his right shoulder, suffered during the fourth Test of England’s series against India, and the recovery time is about two months.
Stokes will want to ensure he can play a full role as an all-rounder in the Ashes series so is likely to be very cautious about rushing any return to playing.