Mark Wood says England have “no excuses” after a frustrating run-up to the T20 World Cup.
Two of the first three Vitality Blast international series matches against Pakistan – at Headingley and Cardiff – were abandoned without a ball being bowled.
England won the second match by 23 runs at Edgbaston and will be hoping for better weather for Thursday’s series finale at Kia Oval, with rain again expected.
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In the absence of Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali will captain England in the third T20 against Pakistan in Cardiff, while Jofa Archer is likely to be rested.
Wood and team will then travel to the West Indies for their World Cup opener against Scotland in Barbados on June 4. Live on Sky Sports.
“Obviously it’s not ideal when you have four games scheduled and you only get to play one or two of them,” fast bowler Wood said. “A couple of the guys are keen to play at the Oval so that will help. It will give confidence to the whole squad.”
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“We had a good game against Pakistan the other day. They looked to be pushing us pretty hard but without some great bowling and shutouts from (Reece) Topley, (Chris) Jordan and (Jofra) Archer we may have lost in the end.”
“Yes, we have a lot of experience but the warm-up matches always tell you different things that can be tweaked. Who is fit? Who else needs to work on? Some have played the IPL, some are match ready, some aren’t. Are the ones that aren’t fresh?”
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England won the second T20 match against Pakistan by 23 runs.
“We want to practice with matches but it’s a delicate balance. One or two of the team might feel they need a match or two to get themselves in shape but there are no excuses.”
“It just keeps coming, and no matter what preparations you make, you just have to go with it.”
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Can Wood and Archer lead the England attack?
The undoubted highlight for England in the Pakistan series will be the return to international cricket of Wood’s fellow speedster, Jofra Archer.
Archer took two wickets at Edgbaston in his first international match in 14 months and has not played for his country on English soil since 2020 after a troubled few years with injuries, including recurring problems with his right elbow.
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Nasser Hussain and Eoin Morgan discuss what is expected from Jofra Archer and how to get the most out of him throughout the World Cup.
Wood added: “The thing about Jofra is he’s always in the game, he’s always putting the opposition under pressure. He’s always got a chance to take a wicket and he can change the course of a game.”
“He bowled that difficult over. The sixth over was a tough one and it was the last over of the powerplay and the batsmen were looking to score big runs so I’m sure they were nervous.”
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Jofra Archer returned to international cricket for the first time since March 2023 and smashed a huge six and picked up two wickets.
“He’s a very calm guy and once he gets over that mistake he’ll be able to settle into the match straight away. The fact he bowled the next three overs for almost no points shows the tenacity he’s had to show over the past few years.”
Asked about the possibility of Archer being included in England’s attack at the World Cup, Wood said: “Honestly, I have no idea. That’s something you have to ask the team management. But I’ve played with Jofra before and I don’t think it’s the same for me and him. I don’t see why we can’t play together.”
Jofra Archer impressed on his return to international action.
“We played together in the 2019 World Cup and it went very well. I don’t see any reason why we can’t play in the same team, but it may be up to the team management to manage our fitness and how we get through the tournament.”
You can watch the fourth and final T20 match between England and Pakistan live on Sky Sports Cricket from 6pm on Thursday (first ball at 6.30pm). You can watch every match of the T20 World Cup live. Sky Sports The season runs from 1 to 29 June, with England’s first match being against Scotland in Barbados on Tuesday 4 June (3.30pm UK & Irish time).
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