Srinagar: Fresh from his heroic return to Test cricket for England against Australia during ongoing Ashes 2023, England tearaway fast bowler Mark Wood had said that he ready to unleash more thunderbolts against Australia.
Mark Wood was named player-of-the-match in Headingley with the match figures of 7-100 and valuable contribution with the bat.
Wood was clocked at 96.5 mph at one stage during his Headingley heroics, with the paceman saying England captain and Durham team-mate Ben Stokes had given him just one instruction prior to his first spell in Test cricket since December’s tour of Pakistan.
“Ben just asked me, ‘Are you ready? Are you ready to bowl some thunderbolts?’ I said yes and that was it,” Wood told reporters.
“He was ready to unleash me. I know him well and he knows me well. Having that relationship with someone makes it easier.”
Wood, asked if he was ready for a repeat performance in Manchester next week, replied with a grin: “Absolutely. Lightning strikes twice, eh?”
Wood’s fitness problems are underlined by the fact that since his debut in 2015 he has appeared in just 29 out of a possible 109 Tests.
“I did four (Tests) in Australia last time and three of them were in a row,” he said.
“It’s a big ask, but one I’ve done before and I will lean on that experience to try to do it again.
“This was my first game in a very, very long time, especially in Test cricket. I will let the body recover, get myself in a good space, let the wounds recover and get myself up for the next one.”