Mark Wood expressed regret over his performance during England’s disappointing Ashes series in Australia, describing it as a period he looks back on with ‘shame.’ The fast bowler felt that England should have secured victory in the opening Test in Perth before the team’s struggles escalated both on and off the field. Wood, who was dealing with a knee injury, played in the first match but was sidelined for the remainder of the tour due to the same issue, and he has not participated in competitive cricket since. In that first Test, England collapsed, losing nine wickets for just 99 runs, while Travis Head’s explosive 123 helped Australia chase down a target of 205.
Fast bowler Mark Wood said he looks back on his performance in England’s dismal Ashes campaign in Australia with shame,’ adding that the tourists should have won the opening Test in Perth before their tour unravelled both on and off the field.
We should have won that first game. The whole tour was different if we won in Perth. “I look back on it shamefully. Australia were there for the taking. “At one point, Gus Atkinson was bowling; we were just bowling bouncers at Head, and he was smacking them, and I remember looking at the score and thinking, ‘this game is finished’. If you don’t change it now, we’re finished, and the game is literally gone’. Head was so good that day, and then the momentum was with them. I just look back and think ‘what a shame’. From a personal standpoint, Wood conceded that he was far from match-ready heading into the Perth game after suffering elbow, knee, and hamstring issues. “I look back at it from a personal point of view that I was nowhere near ready. “Coming to Perth, my knee probably wasn’t right, and then my hamstring – I’ve never had a hamstring problem in my whole career. I think the hamstring was over-compensating for my knee, protecting my knee, and that’s why it got tight. Wood also defended his teammates over public criticism regarding the squad’s frequent golfing habits under former captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum. “The perception of how it looks to people is worse than what it actually was. Is it a bad thing? The lads get to spend loads of time together. They don’t just play golf; they’re talking about cricket.
Because the game was finished, then the game just seemed to be in fast-forward, which is why I feel shame,. Because this is the last resort, “I stopped the play and went to Gus to say, ‘What are we actually doing here,.
It’s a total missed opportunity,” said Wood to BBC TMS during the ongoing England-Pakistan Test. I remember bowling in the nets in Perth, almost convincing myself I’m ready to go, then at the back of my mind thinking, ‘I’m nowhere near’,” he said.
