Mark Wood is running out of road as he seeks a return to fitness and a place in England’s T20 World Cup squad in October. The 32-year-old, who was England’s highest wicket-taker over an abject Ashes tour last winter, is part of a lengthy list of injured quicks including Saqib Mahmood, Olly Stone, Matthew Fisher and, as of Thursday, Jofra Archer. Famous for his upbeat disposition, Wood’s demeanour darkened when sharing an update on his injured right elbow that required surgery in March.
“At the minute it’s a little bit slow going,” he said. “I’m just struggling to get over that sort of half run-up tempo at the minute just because every time I bowl at the moment there’s still a bit of swelling. But they’ve assured us that that’s normal just because I’ve had surgery five weeks ago, so it’s obviously still a little bit raw.”
