Sugar jabs make Wood feel sweet for Ashes
England’s other absent friend from the north East could be found at the gabba nets yesterday doing his best to prove he could still play a part in the ashes.
Mark Wood is not quite as big a miss to England’s ashes squad as his durham teammate Ben stokes but there is no question that Joe Root would have loved to have been able to throw him at australia in the early hours of this morning.
Instead the potent but fragile Wood, 27, is again on the comeback trail and is stepping up his recovery from his latest ankle problem with the lions shadow squad here, and also bowling at England’s main party ahead of the first Test.
now, if all goes well in lions matches against Queensland on Monday and then West australia in Perth, there is every chance England will add the X-factor of Wood to their squad even if there is not an obvious vacancy through injury.
‘I’m getting there,’ said Wood, who was a key member of England’s attack and took the clinching wicket at Trent Bridge when they won the ashes in 2015. ‘I felt pretty good at the end of the season against Worcester but it was a bit too late for selection. ‘I’ve had a series of sugar injections, which sounds a bit bizarre but it’s the sort of thing that could work long term. I feel good when I’m running now so it’s just a case of building it up and getting match practice in.’
How England hope Wood can put his injury problems behind him because, when fully fit, he is a fine bowler with real pace. It is just that there have been all too few glimpses of him at his best.
The good news is that he insists the latest problem with his left ankle is unrelated to the chronic injury which has needed four operations.
‘It’s nothing to do with that,’ said Wood. ‘It’s to do with the ligaments in my ankle. The sugar messes up your ligament and then it heals tighter. It was a horrible injection. I should be tough enough to deal with it being from up north!’
The smile is never far from Wood’s face but it has been difficult for him to cope with his injury problems knowing that, if he stayed fit, he would be a key part of England’s Test attack.
‘I’ve dealt with it by having good friends and family around me,’ said Wood. ‘It was tough seeing the lads preparing for the Test while I was with the lions. It’s hard to be on the edge of things.
‘It’s a huge occasion for everyone here and I’m still hoping at some point I might be part of it. It’s a long series and if there’s an injury I want to be raring to go. The more I bowl in training and games will get me there.
‘I had meetings with andrew strauss, Trevor Bayliss and James Whitaker at the end of the season and they said if I got my body right I’d be in a position to have an impact in this series. I’m not here to put any of the lads under pressure.
‘I’ve had enough injuries myself to know you don’t want people to go through that. But if there is an injury I might be in the background and I can just slot in.’
Clearly Wood has just as big a battle to convince himself he is pain-free as he has with batsmen who, when he is at his best, have to cope with 90mph bowling.
‘The mental part has been the worst for me,’ he admitted.
‘I believe in myself but I have to get back thinking about that battle with the batsman. If I can get to that good place I think I can show how good I can be. But unfortunately I don’t feel I have lived up to that yet.’