Latest news with #MarkWood
Times of Oman
05-08-2025
- Sport
- Times of Oman
Questions England must address ahead of Ashes in Australia
London: England need to seek answers ahead of the five-match Ashes series in Australia later this year. If they harbour aspirations of reaching the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final for the first time, then a positive result Down Under is crucial, as per the official website of the ICC. England showed plenty of good signs during their recent series with India, but still have some unanswered questions as they attempt to win back the Ashes from Australia for the first time since the start of 2018. England tried as many as six different fast bowlers across the five-match series against India, but they aren't all that much clearer about what their best pace line-up looks like. Whether Chris Woakes recovers from his shoulder ailment in time for the Ashes remains to be seen, while the ongoing fitness concerns for pace spearhead Jofra Archer are also sure to be monitored before the trip Down Under. England will also be hoping that Mark Wood will be fit to make the trip to Australia as his pace will surely be an asset, with the likes of Josh Tongue, Brydon Carse, and Gus Atkinson all in consideration for selection too. While there is no doubting the class of Joe Root, the England veteran is yet to register a Test century on Australian shores, and this is probably the only thing missing from his bulky resume as he tries to hunt down Sachin Tendulkar's record for the most hundreds in Test cricket. If Root can break his century duck this time in Australia and lead England to an Ashes victory, then it will surely go down as one of the right-hander's biggest achievements during his illustrious international career. Youngster Shoaib Bashir appears to be the front-runner to be England's first-choice spin option during the Ashes, providing he recovers from his finger injury, but the 20-year-old is yet to set the world on fire and may be targeted by Australia's batting group. England could turn to the experience of Jack Leach or provide Liam Dawson another opportunity after he got a taste of it against India, or will Rehan Ahmed make a surprise return and be included in the touring party? Crawley was England's leading run-scorer during the most recent Ashes series in 2023, but the tall opener was somewhat disappointing on his inaugural visit to Australia when he managed just 166 runs from three Tests across the 2021/2022 series. Australia's experienced pace attack will fancy their chances against Crawley and the right-hander will be under pressure to perform well and get the side off to a good start alongside fellow opener Ben Duckett. Jamie Smith has made a superb start to his fledgling international Test career, and the comparisons with Australian great Adam Gilchrist seem somewhat justified, given his Test batting average currently sits close to 50. It will be a step up in class for Smith taking on Australia away from home and the Aussies are sure to try and intimidate the talented 25-year-old in his first tour Down Under.
BBC News
09-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Archer to play first Test in more than four years
Jofra Archer will play his first Test in more than four years after being named in the England team to face India at Lord's on 30-year-old's inclusion is the only change to the England team for the crucial third Test, with the series level at Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse both looking weary in the heavy second-Test defeat at Edgbaston, they are both retained, with Josh Tongue making way for the same day Archer's place in the England XI was confirmed, fellow pace bowler Mark Wood trained at Lord's as he continues his comeback from a knee was thought Wood would miss the entire five-match series against India, but the Durham man is targeting the final Test at The Oval. It raises the tantalising prospect of Archer and Wood in the same XI, which has only happened once before in Test has taken 42 wickets in 13 previous Tests but has been dogged by back and elbow injuries since his last, also against India, in 2021. England have played 53 Tests since Archer last appeared. It will be 1,595 days between that time, it seemed highly doubtful Archer would ever be back in Test cricket and there were points when his entire career was in his last major setback, in 2023, Archer has followed a meticulous plan laid out by England, who have kept faith in his supreme talent with central contracts throughout his time away from Test cricket. England XI for third Test against India: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir. The culmination of that plan is a comeback at Lord's, scene of Archer's two most memorable moments in an England shirt, both in his debut year of bowled the super over in England's heart-stopping World Cup final triumph over New Zealand and, weeks later, returned to the same ground to make his Test bow against made an instant impact with an electrifying spell, felling and concussing Aussie run-machine Steve there is a symmetry to Archer's return, it is not without risk. He has played only one first-class match in the build-up to the third Test, in Sussex's trip to Durham two weeks ago. He bowled 18 overs and claimed one Archer's inclusion was expected, it is perhaps a surprise that England have not made further changes to their pace 36, has taken only three wickets in the series, but has a superb record at Lord's. In seven previous Tests on this ground he has taken 32 wickets at an average under appeared to be struggling with a recurrence of the foot problem that ruled him out of the beginning of the year, though has been passed fit to means no place for either Sam Cook or Jamie Overton. Gus Atkinson is also in the squad as he continues his comeback from a hamstring train later on Wednesday and are expected to welcome back fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah after he was rested for the second Test.
New York Times
05-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
England yearn for an X factor as India expose a lack of bowling options
The sight of Jofra Archer receiving a standing ovation from the Hollies Stand as he walked around the boundary on 12th man duty said everything about the limitations of an England attack that has toiled painfully in this second Test. Those spectators know India and, in particular, their new captain Shubman Gill have handed England a harsh reminder of the missing ingredients in a bowling line-up lacking the X factor Archer, for one, can provide. Advertisement Most pertinently Gill, in becoming the first batter in history to make scores of more than 250 and 150 in the same Test, has shown England have much to improve not only if they are to win this series but to have any chance in Australia this winter. This was the best attack England could have picked for this match once they had decided to delay Archer's comeback by a week. But it has not looked anything like one that could earn them their first Ashes victory in Australia since 2011. England's defence is that this Edgbaston pitch has not helped an attack lacking not just Archer — who has not featured in a Test since 2021 — but the fastest Englishman of them all, Mark Wood, as well as Gus Atkinson, another contender for their first-choice attack. They may like groundsmen to prepare flat surfaces to suit their all-action batting style, but they have been frustrated by the lack of pace and bounce this week in Birmingham. The venue for the first Test in Headingley had been close to the perfect surface, lasting five days and offering a bit of that elusive pace and also the turn that could have been exploited on the last day by India had they picked their mystery spinner, Kuldeep Yadav. Edgbaston has offered bowlers barely anything once the shine has come off the new ball, a reality that has surprised England after they reprised what has brought them so much home success at the toss and bowled first. But the point is India, in the form of Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep, have extracted far more out of the surface, at least with that new ball, than Brydon Carse and Chris Woakes. They reduced England to 84 for five in their first innings before demolishing the tail with the second new ball just when England looked like edging much closer to India's 587. Then an India side, who controversially left out their best bowler in Jasprit Bumrah at Edgbaston, again looked far more potent and better equipped to find life in a moribund surface when England batted for a second time on Saturday. Advertisement Deep in particular was superb as England crashed to 72 for three chasing a nominal target of 608. He produced an absolute beauty to bowl Joe Root, finding seam movement where England could find none, and consistently hit the right line and length. Not that India needed to find too much in the pitch to dismiss Zak Crawley who has succumbed to two absolutely dreadful shots in this game to reignite the debate about his position at the top of the England order. Finding a way to take wickets on flat surfaces is the key to winning Tests and this England attack has not had enough quality to do that, conceding a whopping 1,014 runs in the match, 430 of them scored by Gill, while taking only 16 wickets in 234 overs of hard graft. They had always planned to freshen up their bowling for Thursday's third Test at Lord's, coming just three days after this one finishes on Sunday, but the need for more than the injection of pace that Archer will bring has become acute. Even though Archer has bowled just 18 competitive overs with a red ball in more than four years, he will play in the third Test where England hope he can provide the extreme pace and menace that so troubled Australia there on his Test debut six years ago. There is also a strong chance Atkinson, another to fall victim to England's bowling injury curse, will be thrown straight into the third Test for his first game since the opening Test of this summer against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge. Atkinson has taken 55 wickets in his first 12 Tests to date, and made a century at Lord's against Sri Lanka. He looked a proper Test cricketer last summer and England will at least name him in their squad for Lord's now he has recovered from his hamstring injury. The other bowler to come into contention will probably be Jamie Overton, who has been in the squad for the first two Tests of this series without playing and will be an option if three changes are made to this side. Josh Tongue has had his moments in the opening two matches of this series, notably in demolishing the India tail twice at Headingley, but he will be the first left out now after bowling 43 overs in the second Test and taking four wickets. The 27-year-old is definitely an alternative to Archer and Wood as an 'enforcer' of extra pace with the old ball, but he is neither as fast nor, frankly, as good as those two and has not posed the threat Australia saw from him when he played in the Ashes at Lord's two years ago. Advertisement The sight of England wicketkeeper Jamie Smith standing up to the stumps at times to Woakes on the fourth day here was ominous for one of the most successful and popular England bowlers of the last 10 years. Yes, the pitch was desperately slow and, by that point, the ball was soft. But it is not a great look to see a keeper standing up to an opening bowler — nor, indeed, Gill dancing down the pitch to dispatch him into the stand for six — and Woakes, at 36, will face increasing questions over whether he can last the course until the Ashes. Woakes has an exceptional record at Lord's where he takes his Test wickets at 12 apiece, but England will see how a bowler who himself has only recently returned from injury shapes up after two long, demanding Tests before giving him another game there. Sam Cook is an option for Woakes' 'workhorse' role, but England were concerned about his lack of pace on debut against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge, where too often he dropped into the 70mph range rather than the 80s which is the bare minimum at Test level. Carse has clearly been struggling with the left foot issue that earlier this season saw him, only half-jokingly, say he was considering having a toe amputated. He has gone through six pairs of bowling boots in this Test alone in search of pain relief. He was better on the fourth day in an opening spell of seven overs and is still inexperienced both in Test cricket and with the new red ball. He will almost certainly be rested at Lord's, but Carse is a bowler in whom England will continue to invest. Perhaps England would have been more potent with the ball in this Test had Ben Stokes, now back to full bowling fitness, managed more than 26 overs — only seven of them coming in India's second innings before they belatedly declared on 427 for six. But we can hardly criticise the England captain for not bowling enough when his problem has been over-bowling himself and breaking down. He is vital to the all-round balance of this side and has to tread carefully. How England will hope Wood can stay fit when he returns from his latest left knee operation, which may come towards the end of this series, but history tells you he will always struggle to play in more than two or three games of any series. There are not too many other options. Olly Stone is fit again and played for Nottinghamshire in the Twenty20 Blast on Friday, but is not yet in consideration for Test cricket. Lions coach Andrew Flintoff has been impressed in particular by one of his young charges, Hampshire's Eddie Jack, but he is one for the future rather than now. Two other young Hampshire fast bowlers, Sonny Baker and John Turner, may also come into contention longer-term while Leicestershire's giant left-armer Josh Hull remains too raw for the senior side just yet despite making his Test debut last summer. So England can only hope Archer and Atkinson are the answer at Lord's and that the returning pair, along with Wood and Carse, can find the consistency in fitness and output that Australia's best bowlers always seem to have when the big series come round. Otherwise England are not going to have anything like the potency with the ball they possess with the bat for the biggest challenges in Test cricket that India and Australia provide. Click here to follow cricket on The Athletic and see more stories like this.
News18
01-07-2025
- Sport
- News18
Mark Wood's Big Claim On Bumrah: 'I Am Telling You He'll Play Both Tests...'
Last Updated: It's not either Edgbaston or Lord's -- Mark Wood firmly believes that Jasprit Bumrah will play both of the next two Tests of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. England fast-bowler Mark Wood believes Jasprit Bumrah will play both the second Test at Edgbaston and the third at Lord's of the ongoing Anderson-Trophy. Wood, who's recovering from an injury and out till the fifth Test, thinks Bumrah 'got to' play the second game to help India overcome the 1-0 deficit after the first match at Headingley, while he also won't want to miss the chance of getting on the Lord's honors board. From chief selector Ajit Agarkar to head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill, all confirmed before the series that India will not risk their best bowler beyond three Tests to avoid a serious injury. Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said on Monday that Bumrah was 'available' but added that the team were yet to make a call on him being in the 11 when the match begins on Wednesday. 'He's going to play them two, I am telling you," Wood told Michael Atherton in a Sky Sports show. 'I think he'll play them both… He's got to because they can't afford to go 2-0 down, so you want your best bowler. There's no way he's saying I am not playing at Lord's. I think he'll want to play both games. Let's just say India win the next one and it's 1-1, I still think they'll want him to make the difference to get them ahead. Every overseas bowler wants to get on that board and he'll be the same," he added. Former cricketer Atheron said India will need him most at Edgbaston and at Old Trafford (fourth Test) but agreed that he won't want to miss the Lord's game. 'In cricketing terms, he should certainly play Edgbaston and I'll say think carefully about Old Trafford because that's the kind of ground where pace and reverse swing is very important but as you say, every cricketer wants to play at Lord's and get on that honors board. So I do think they should play Kuldeep Yadav. I think if they had Kuldeep in the team, they'd have won that (Headingley) game," Atherton said. If Bumrah doesn't play, India have Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh waiting on the bench. First Published: July 01, 2025, 07:47 IST
BBC News
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
'Dad's ashes are in the neck of my guitar'
A musician whose late dad was his "biggest supporter" has had his ashes worked into the neck of his guitar so he can still be with him at his future Wood, who has played with a number of metal bands, said his dad would travel miles to see his gigs but he died of a heart attack at the age of 68 on Christmas Day came up with the idea of working some of his dad's ashes into the neck of his Fender Telecaster so his dad, Keith Wood, could join him on Wood, 37, approached fellow musician and close friend Sam Orr, from Chester, who agreed to do this for him. Mr Wood, from Beverley, East Yorkshire, said his dad's death had left a "big hole" in the said his sister, Katie, had some of his ashes turned into jewellery, which left Mr Wood wondering what he could do as a fitting tribute to his Wood, who was a retired teacher from Beverley, taught his son to play guitar and came along to gigs in places as far afield as Glasgow, London and Berlin, his son said."Dad was my biggest supporter. He just used to rock up at gigs and we'd just have a beer and a catch up," he said. "I wish dad was still here but doing this makes me feel like he's always going to be here with me and you have always got your memories."This way he will still be with me at all the shows and this has given me a sense of closure." Mr Wood said working ashes into the dotted inlays on the neck of a guitar "was something that I did not know could be done" but he knew who to ask about approached his close friend and fellow musician Sam Orr, who runs Sam's Guitars in Chester, Cheshire, and who also repairs Orr said he had never been asked to do this before and it was an honour as he had also known Keith Wood."At first, I was just wondering how it would work, then the more I thought about it and did a few test runs on a spare guitar neck I had, I realised it wouldn't be too difficult to complete it," said Mr said he mixed the ashes with a special glue as part of the painstaking work. Mr Wood, who is retraining to be a rescue diver, said watching Mr Orr do this "was an emotional experience". "We put some music on in the background and had a couple of beers and made a thing of it," he said."Sam did the work while the shop was shut and was so caring and careful and really respectful." Mr Wood said he had only just felt ready to play the guitar and, when he did, "it felt great"."The first thing I did was play a song that he liked - Stranglehold by Ted Nugent," he said."He always asked me to play that as a kid."Mark Wood has played in bands including Manchester's Winterfilleth and he is currently a member of said he hoped to play the guitar at a gig in Hull on 18 July. Read more stories from Cheshire on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC North West on X. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
