Karachi: England’s express pace bowler Mark Wood has declared he is keen on playing Test cricket following his match-winning performance against Pakistan in the third T20I at the National Stadium here, which helped the tourists take a 2-1 lead in the seven-match series.
Wood, who is returning to the England white-ball side following two elbow surgeries and an agonising wait of six months, had superb figures of 4-0-24-3 as the Moeen Ali-led side demolished Pakistan to win by 63 runs after Ben Duckett and Harry Brook had scored unbeaten half-centuries.
Wood’s 97-mile-per-hour delivery caught the attention of the fans worldwide, with experts saying he could come in handy in Tests as well under the new setup of coach Brendon McCullum and skipper Ben Stokes.
The 32-year-old has taken 82 wickets in 26 Tests and, ironically, his overseas record — 41 wickets at under 25 runs apiece — is better than at home.
“If they (England management) want me, I’ll be ready to go. The Test performances have given me belief in all the formats because, if you can do it at that level, I feel I can do it at any level,” Wood was quoted as saying by Daily Mail.
Describing his surgical procedure to fix the injured elbow, Wood said he was unable to straighten his arm following the first surgery because of which he had to undergo another in July, which delayed his return to the side by more than six months.
Wood, who matched the 97-mile-per-hour delivery from Steve Harmison during the 2006-07 Ashes game at Perth, said, “I mentioned I felt it more bowling away swing. So when he (surgeon) knocked me out, he was turning my wrist and a ligament kept flapping into my joint all the time.
“They (surgeons) took all the bits of bone fragment out of my arm but the main problem was this ligament trapped in my joint. So he (surgeon) cut the ligament off and since then it’s been fine,” added Wood.
–IANS
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