Mark Wood hits back at Kevin Pietersen’s 'Golf' accusations on England Team
Published - 01 May 2025, 01:42 PM | Updated - 01 May 2025, 04:25 PM
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England pacer Mark Wood is upset with the growing talk that his teammates care more about golf than cricket, especially after poor performances during the white-ball tour of India.
Mark Wood has fired his short ball at Kevin Pietersen for his controversial remarks on the England cricket team after they lost badly in both the T20I and ODI series in India.
Earlier this year, Kevin Pietersen slammed the England team’s lack of training intensity, as they skipped practice before one of their crucial ODIs and went to enjoy golf.
At that time, Pietersen had said they don’t train hard enough, and golf is becoming more important than the game itself.
Later, England’s managing director, Rob Key, slammed the player for "talking rubbish" in the media, referring to Ben Duckett’s nonsense.
This provided enough fuel to Pietersen’s fury at the national players, with the English fans targeting the team with the same narrative following their disastrous India tour and poor ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign.
Mark Wood shuts down Kevin Pietersen’s "golf jibe" at the England team
But Wood, who doesn’t even play golf, has now strongly defended his English teammates. Indirectly slamming Kevin Pietersen, Wood said that the narrative that the England players don’t care or train seriously is simply not true.
Mark Wood said on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast: “One thing that does bother me is this narrative of 'golf, golf, golf.' I don't play golf. I don't like it. It's not a game for me. I know the lads enjoy it, and that's their time off. At times, it's as if the golf is more important, and that is not true at all.”
Even though many of the players enjoy golf in their free time, the star pacer made it clear that when it comes to training, they give it everything in their training sessions.
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Mark Wood hits back at critics by saying the England team works hard
The English star explained, “I cannot stress enough that when we're at training, especially under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, we train hard. The lads don't take it for granted that we play for England."
"This narrative of 'oh, well, we'll play golf; this is the best gig in the world," I can understand people's frustration with it, but I'm telling you, people genuinely care and work hard.”
Wood said that it’s frustrating to hear people think the players aren’t passionate and obsessed with this “golf culture.” He insisted that every loss hurts, and the team is working hard to improve.
He added, “I'm there to win for England. That's what makes me feel uncomfortable, this narrative that we don't care. It hurts when we get beaten. The quotes that come from the team sometimes, we can definitely improve that, because it doesn't then come across as how people are truly feeling.”
"This whole thing makes me feel uncomfortable"
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) April 30, 2025
Mark Wood directly responds to criticism that England players 'don't practice and train hard enough' 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/VDclzZg14G
Mark Wood aims to play at least two Tests against India
Wood had knee surgery in March, and he will miss the early summer. However, the England pacer hopes to play for Durham in July and then join the England squad for the Test series against India.
He signed off by saying, “I'm still aiming for a Test or two at the end of that India series if I can get my body in a good place.”
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