Mark Wood already possesses the ability to intimidate hitters with his fast pace, but the England sprinter revealed on Wednesday that he is working behind the scenes to develop a slow yorker that would come in handy when the T20 World Cup action plays out in fields in India later this year.
Wood said he realized the importance of having a slow ball while competing in Indian pitches when he played with India pacemaker Shardul Thakur at the IPL, where they play for the Chennai Super Kings.
With only seven months to go to the T20 World Cup in India, Woods is making a conscious effort to add ammo to his arsenal.
“Watching his bowlers… I played with Shardul Thakur in Chennai (Super Kings). And it has a new slower ball. So just looking at that and how well it has worked here is something that I am trying to adapt to my game, ”Wood told British media here on Wednesday.
“My role has been quite clear, the plans that I have been trying to make. Behind the scenes, I’m still trying to learn new things, slow balls try to get that in my yorker ball and there are always things to improve on. “
“These are the conditions that we will face in the World Cup, so it is about getting the right skills to be able to adapt to any surface or the type of fields that we can find here,” he explained. .
England’s pacemaker, which did not participate in the test series, has constantly disturbed India’s higher order in the T20I, with a constant speed of more than 140 km / h. But he still does not feel that his place in the starting eleven is guaranteed.
“I played well in a couple of games, but last summer I played well against Australia and then I lost in South Africa. We have so many good bowlers that I don’t feel like my place is a given. “
Of England’s bowlers who took 10 or more wickets in T20I men’s cricket, no one has had a lower strike rate than Mark Wood (12.9).#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/2NwvrQ8Nue
– Wisden (@WisdenCricket) March 16, 2021
Wood said the series gives him the opportunity to cement his place for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
“It gives me the opportunity to prove myself in this series and ultimately we all want to be part of that group that plays in the World Cup and hopefully wins the World Cup for England.
“We have many substitutes, people come and go in shape, injuries come and go. That is why it is important that, as a group, no one takes a sport for granted. “
Wood, however, said he is immensely confident that England captain Eoin Morgan has identified him as a member of his core group.
“Eoin is a great leader, someone when I don’t play tells me immediately why I’m not playing and what they want me to improve at. And when I am playing, he is very clear about my role, it is very clear what he is looking for me in terms of plans and things of the game.
“So it gives me a lot of confidence that he sees me that way. We both get along and know each other well enough to have that relationship. I’m delighted that he feels that way, but that doesn’t mean, in any way, that I am a fact of the team. So I have to keep working hard both off the field and on the field, keep delivering. “
When asked if he’s frustrated at not being recognized as an entity on his own and is constantly being compared to his new ball partner, Jofra Archer, he said it brings out the best in him.
“It doesn’t bother us in terms of being competitors, it’s the same question all the time, right? That’s Jofra and I try to go faster than the other one. Now we have played together so much that we just enjoy it together.
“Get the best of me, as I’m safe for him. We just focus on our own roles. It’s great to be able to support that together and put pressure on the opposition, ”he said.
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