After being overlooked by England for most of the international summer, Mark Wood will look to make the most of his opportunity against Australia in the upcoming white-ball series and send a message ahead of next year’s Ashes.
The paceman was dropped after the first Test against the West Indies in early July, didn’t play in the rest of that three-match series, and also failed to earn a recall for any of England’s three Tests against Pakistan last month.
Wood acknowledged it was “hard mentally” to live for two months in a bio-secure bubble and barely get a chance to play, but didn’t go “moaning and groaning” to selectors behind the scenes.
“You never want to be left out, or the easy drop,” Wood said in a video call on Wednesday.
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“It’s not my style to shout and scream. I have a great relationship with (England Test coach) Chris Silverwood and I just asked him honestly what I needed to do to get in the team and improve.
“Sometimes you don’t get the answer you’re looking for. He said he was happy with me but just that I didn’t get selected. I think once you know you are not in the team, you are disappointed but you are very lucky to still be in a squad playing for England.”
The disappointment will be slightly eased if he makes the team for the three-match Twenty20 series against Australia starting Friday, and then a three-match ODI series against the same opponent from Sept. 11.
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Wood has been a key member of England’s white-ball team in recent years, and is a World Cup winner from last year.
“It’s always good when you play for England, don’t get me wrong, but there’s an extra incentive when you play Australia, your biggest rivals,” Wood said.
“They are desperate to beat you, you are desperate to beat them. It doesn’t matter if it’s the Ashes, white ball, T20. We’ll be desperate to beat them."
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