England pacer Mark Wood is yet to get over his team’s debatable performance at the ICC World Cup 2023. They started the tournament as defending champions and among the favorites to win the title. However, in the end they finished seventh in the points table, even below Afghanistan.
England’s lowest point in the campaign was their defeat to Afghanistan. In total, they won only three games and lost six. They lost to New Zealand, India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Australia. England won against Bangladesh, Pakistan and Netherlands.
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In the pre-match press conference ahead of the first Test against India, Wood spoke about England’s performance in the recently concluded ODI World Cup. Mark Wood played seven of England’s nine group matches, taking six wickets at an average of 58.16. His economy rate of 6.46 was the second highest among English seamers, after Sam Curran’s 8.07 in three matches.
“I think it hurt us all. I texted Woakesy, Jos and other guys in that group. We came here with high expectations and we didn’t meet them. Not even close to the height. It just didn’t go well. “We wanted to have the opportunity to create something as a group and we fell short,” Wood said.
“I got really angry after the first week I got home. When you go from one game to the next, you get disappointed, but then you say “okay, it’s the next game, then the next game.” For about a week, once I got home, I asked myself, ‘why did I do that?’ or ‘why was this happening’, ‘why did we do that’. It really hurt for a while, but that’s why I was hungry to get back into this environment. “I am willing to try to prove that it was something specific,” she added.
Ready to go: Mark Wood
Wood has had his own injury problems but is part of the England squad for the Test series against India. After the World Cup debacle, the England pacer said his team has something to prove by returning to continental conditions.
“I feel like I have something to prove here. Very disappointed with that entire campaign, personally and as a team. The conditions may not be favorable for me, but I will try to put on a better show than at the World Cup,” he added.
Wood has played 31 Test matches but this is his first Test match in India. He has played only one Test match against India and took five wickets in the game. In total, he has 104 wickets in the format. The pacer spoke about the team’s training in Abu Dhabi to adapt to the Indian conditions. He also said that he and his teammates are ready to participate in this series.
“I’m ready to go. Like a lot of the boys, we’ve prepared a lot in Abu Dhabi, we’ve done a lot of physical exercise in the winter months behind closed doors. So yeah, I feel fit and ready to play,” Wood said. at the press conference.
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