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‘To come back so strongly is amazing’ – Wood
- Updated: August 25, 2016
Mark Wood is not a Geordie sure of his place in the England fast-bowling pecking order – but he is glad to be back. Figures of 1 for 57 on his first ODI appearance in almost a year were not as arresting as the fact that his fastest delivery was clocked at 92.7mph, during a hostile opening spell in which he helped put Pakistan on the back foot in the first match of the series in Southampton.
Following two operations on his left ankle, and ten months out of the England side, Wood has hurtled back into contention following a series of vibrant displays. A couple of his one-day squad-mates can attest to that, after a searing contribution to Durham’s NatWest Blast semi-final win over Yorkshire on Saturday, in which he gave Joe Root a torrid working-over – five balls, several hurried prods, one run – and yorked Jonny Bairstow on the way to career-best T20 figures of 4 for 25.
Root, whose 61 helped England to a comfortable DLS victory on Wednesday, could barely lay a bat on Wood in their Finals Day encounter – a problem he has solved by giving it away to his tormentor. For Wood, it has been an immensely satisfying comeback after missing most of the winter and half of the English season recovering from his injured ankle.
“I had more than a little bit of frustration over the last few months,” Wood said. “To come back with Durham so strongly is amazing. The coach there, Jon Lewis, and the way that the whole England medical team have looked after me, they deserve huge credit. Jon Lewis basically said to not worry about going for runs and to concentrate on taking wickets and that confidence and getting a few wickets and playing the role that I did at Durham gave me the confidence to come back to the England set-up fresh.
“That was my best Twenty20 bowling performance for sure. I haven’t seen the paces but a couple of the Yorkshire lads said I bowled well and getting that recognition from international players is always nice. One of them in particular is a pretty good batsman so I was very happy that he was saying it was tough and I even just swapped a bat with him now so that must be some sort of recognition. I think it’s because I bowled so well at …
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