England suffer fresh blow in The Ashes as Mark Wood RULED OUT of...
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English paceman Mark Wood believes that age is catching up to him, as, despite his desperate attempts, his body is no longer permitting him to cope with his injuries. Wood has had a career stacked up with injuries, and the eldest member of that English side feels that he is getting older now.
England took a fierce pace attack to the Australian soil, probably the most promising English bowling deck in the Ashes, despite not having the likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad. However, their campaign has been sabotaged by injury setbacks.
One of the most competent and the most experienced among these bowlers is Mark Wood, the sublime pace machine from England. However, the 35-year-old, who was already ruled out by a knee surgery, came back to bowl only 11 wicketless overs in Perth before being ruled out again.
Mark Wood rules out chances of return ahead of Adelaide Test
Mark Wood has himself cast a doubt on his availability for the third Ashes Test, which is scheduled to be played at the Adelaide Oval. He has addressed the issues he has been facing lately and has cited that age could be a factor playing the hindrance in his return.
While speaking to Channel 7 during the tea break of the pink-ball Test in Brisbane, Wood admitted that he was unlikely to be available for the Adelaide game, which starts on the 17th of December. Though he was positive on his return ahead of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.
"I think there's a chance there, but more realistically, it's probably more Melbourne and then [Sydney] after that… I need to get out of this [brace] first to get moving around," said Wood.
He revealed that he has been taking painkiller injections in his knee since the first Test and claimed that increasing age is catching up with him.
"Throughout my career, I've tried to show resilience and keep coming back and keep trying to push it where I can bowl faster and faster, but I'm getting older now," he added.
"I don't know if my body's not coping with it as well [as it used to] but I'll keep trying," Mark Wood says
Mark Wood, despite having doubts imposed about his bodily attributes, takes pride in running for England and hence has been trying to get this right and return to the field. He has revealed that now on injections, he is planning to soon get through to running and then eventually bowling.
"I don't know if my body's not coping with it as well [as it used to] but I'll keep trying. That's something I pride myself on, to keep running in for the team and be a good team man. I'm hoping I can get this right and can charge in again.
"I'm trying to just get through day-to-day at the moment. Later in the series is what I'm aiming for, but I can't do that much at the moment. I've had a couple of injections, resting up, and slowly but surely, running [will] start soon, then back into bowling," Wood concluded.
"It's more mentally difficult than physically," claims Wood
Mark Wood also believes that his return would now be more of a mental challenge than a physical difficulty. "It's more mentally difficult than physically. You've got to try and build it back up and come back again, and that's probably the more difficult thing," said Wood.
The England captain is, however, hopeful for his longtime teammate's return, as he pointed out that with many days remaining for the Adelaide Test and in the series, Wood would surely be up for contention for selection.
"We've got a lot more time to go on this tour, and we'll just see how things play out with that," informed Ben Stokes.
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