Wood ready for big England future despite disappointing audition

Mark Wood emerged from a chastening experience in Hamilton reassured that he is being primed for a lead role in England’s future.

Wood conceded more than four runs an over at Seddon Park, where centuries from New Zealand Test discard Tom Blundell and unheralded tailender Kyle Jamieson gave England the runaround on day one of their pink-ball warmup match.

Captain Joe Root told Wood, England’s fastest bowler, the previous evening that he would take the new ball alongside James Anderson and the reason for the 28-year-old’s elevation is significant.

Anderson and Stuart Broad have 922 Test wickets between them, but also a combined age of 66.

Root therefore identified this relatively low-key occasion to deploy Wood, pictured, with the new ball so that, when the time, comes, England will not be shoe-horning him into a key role to which he is unaccustomed.

After the New Zealand XI recovered from 30 for five to 358 for eight, Wood explained why he had begun proceedings ahead of Broad.

“Yesterday, we had a bowlers’ meeting, and Joe pulled me in at the end and said that – further down the line – if the two guys finish at around the same time, we don’t want two fresh opening bowlers. “I was a bit surprised when he told me, but it was obviously a huge honour to open the bowling for England. I was shocked, because they’re a prolific opening partnership. But it was a chance for me to try to impress.”

Initially, he did – only to bear the brunt of the counter-attack as Blundell (131) and Jamieson (101) shared a stand of 163 in 32 overs.

“I’ve never seen a tailender hit the ball so cleanly,” Wood said of Jamieson. “They hit the ball so hard and so clean all the time – it was a weird game of cricket.

“I don’t think we took our foot off the gas or anything.

“We tried everything we could... but they played really well.”