Mark Wood vows to be reverse swing demon for England
CHESTER-LE-STREET, ENGLAND - JUNE 21: Mark Wood celebrates as he bowls Marcus Stoinis of Australia during the 4th Royal London ODI match between England and Australia at Emirates Durham ICG on June 21, 2018 in Chester-le-Street, England. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
By Andrew Lawton
A HOT and dry summer may make bowling 90mph a tiring exercise but England’s Mark Wood is licking his lips at the prospect of conditions which will aid his reverse swing.
The opportunities for reverse swing have been reduced with the introduction of two white balls for each innings of ODIs but Wood still believes it’s a key weapon in his armoury.
The 28-year-old didn’t have his best Royal London One-Day International Series against Australia in terms of wickets – picking up just four dismissals in as many games.
But the Durham seamer, rested for the T20i series against India, hopes that the conditions play into his hands for the second Royal London One-Day International Series of the summer.
“Reverse swing is a definite a weapon for me,” said Wood, speaking at a private bowling session to celebrate unconventional greatness in cricket with Royal London.
“It’s something I enjoy bowling with and it’s something I feel I can do well for the team and produce at a good standard.
“When [Chris] Woakes and [Ben] Stokes come back it’ll be interesting to see who plays. If it’s drier later in the summer and there are abrasive pitches it will bring reverse swing – that’ll add a role to the team.
“Four [wickets] in four games isn’t great but I feel I bowled better as the [Australia] series went on.
“I was happy with my speeds, I got quicker as the series went on and I feel like I’m contributing to the one-day side in my role.”
With a 5-0 series victory over Australia already behind them and England sitting atop the ICC One-Day rankings, hopes are high of a good run at next year’s World Cup on home soil.
A three-match Royal London One-Day International Series against India will be a stern test of their credentials with Wood feeling fresh having been rested during the recent international t20s.
And the Durham quick knows how important more positive results and momentum are against the second-best one-day side in the world.
He added: “It’s obviously great to have momentum into a World Cup but if we have a bad game along the line it’ll give us the kick we need and makes us focus on the things we do to win games.
“It sounds boring but if we take away the emotion of trying to win every game, and do what we do well more often than not we’ll come out on top.
“It’s trusting each other, we know that everyone can do the job. We celebrate each other’s success, we’re all good friends we enjoy each other doing well.
“If we stick to the processes we’ve talked about, the values we have as a side, how we go about trying to win games, if we stick to them then I don’t see why we can’t beat India at home.
“I wouldn’t say 3-0, obviously it would be fantastic to win 3-0 and we try and win every game we play but I just wouldn’t want to make a prediction like that.”
