Englishman Mark Wood bowls during day one of the Fourth Test match in the Ashes series between Australia and England at Sydney Cricket Ground on January 05, 2022 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo: Izhar Ahmed Khan)
English paceman, Mark Wood, is keen to prove the sceptics wrong as he aims to maintain his high-paced bowling in his third consecutive test ahead of the upcoming Ashes test in Hobart.
As this one-sided Ashes series draws to a close, Wood is confident that his body can maintain the strenuous workload as the England team tries to save face in the final test match.
“People obviously think, is my pace gonna dip off? Well, now it’s another chance to show again that I can do it for 3 games in a row, and put to bed some of the things you’ve [the media] been saying,” he said.
“Without Jofra and Stoney here [I’m] the only fast bowler here to offer that point of difference. It’s been a sort of responsibility on my shoulders, that I’ve felt and I’ve actually enjoyed that responsibility.
“The challenge for us is that we have not bowled Australia out that many times so we need to try and get 20 wickets.
“We know that we obviously have not performed very well on this trip. But this gives us a chance to show some fight and show some character and stand up for England.”
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On his battle with Marnus Labuschagne, Wood said that he is just keen to prove himself against high-quality players.
“I don’t see it as a huge thing in my mind. It’s just that he’s a top-class player and I wanna raise my game and prove myself against the best players,” he said.
“‘He’s a guy that we certainly know we need to try and capitalise on the first 20 bowls of his innings. Really put him under pressure there because if he gets in, he does a lot of damage.
“It’s always special when you get a big wicket like Smith or Warner or Labuschagne.”
Although he has worked hard throughout the series, Wood is planning to throw all of his energy behind this last test match, as he concedes he hasn’t gotten as many wickets as he would have liked.
“Personally I’ve done a lot of hard work, I’ve run in well, I’ve kept my pace up but like I say I haven’t been getting the wickets I really wanted. So I’ve got another chance in this game, if I’m selected, to put some in the right column at the end,” he said.
“It’s all well and good playing the games, but it’s the wins and wickets that I’m after and that’s my priority.
“One last big push from me.”
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