Mark Wood admits England’s World Cup blowout “really hurt” and is desperate to put things right on his return to Indian soil with the Test team.
Wood was part of the side that slumped to a seventh-place finish at the tournament a matter of weeks ago, with the defending champions ruthlessly exposed during a handful of stinging defeats.
Fresh from playing a crucial role in England’s Ashes comeback over the summer, Wood was unable to lift the 50-over side in the same way, chipping in with just six wickets in seven matches and going at 6.46 runs an over.
Speaking ahead of Thursday’s first Test in Hyderabad, where he is expected to provide the pace in spin-friendly conditions, Wood is eager to put those 50-over struggles firmly behind him.
“I didn’t perform well in the World Cup and that was my last involvement so I feel like I’ve got a point to prove a little bit here,” he said.
“I was very disappointed with that whole campaign, personally and as a team. Conditions might not be favourable for me but I’ll be trying to put a better show than I did at the World Cup. We came here with big expectations and we didn’t live up to it, nowhere near up to it.
“I was really upset with it. For about a week once I got home I was thinking, ‘Why did I do that?’ or ‘Why was this happening?’, ‘What did we do that for?’.
“It really hurt for a while but that’s why there is a hunger to come back into this environment. I’m ready to try to prove that was just a one-off.”
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While England’s status as defending champions meant they had been well fancied heading into the World Cup, the odds place them as distant second favourites ahead of the five-match series.
India have not been turned over at home since 2012, when Sir Alastair Cook’s England scored a famous win, losing only three of their 46 subsequent Tests.
The widespread belief that India will prevail again on the kind of turning surfaces that undermined England’s efforts in 2021 is liberating to Wood, who is focusing on the chance to do something special.
“We’ve created history in the past, (winning last year) in Pakistan. It’s a free hit, to be honest,” he said.
“Not many teams come here and win. If we give it a good go, we could go down in flames, but if we give it a go, it’s no different to any other time.”
The majority of England’s XI seems to be locked in, with Harry Brook’s return home for personal reasons opening the way for Ben Foakes to return to the team and reclaim the wicketkeeping gloves from Jonny Bairstow.
Wood and James Anderson are favoured to take seam bowling duties, with Jack Leach likely to be joined by one of Tom Hartley or Rehan Ahmed in the spin ranks.
The squad’s fourth spinner, 20-year-old Shoaib Bashir, missed a second training session on Tuesday after visa complications kept him grounded in Abu Dhabi.
Gurbaz makes history as Afghanistan thrash South Africa
Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored his seventh ODI century, setting Afghanistan on their way to a dominant 177-run win over South Africa on Friday.
Afghanistan now have an unassailable 2-0 lead in their ODI series, with South Africa unable to mount any sort of threat in the sweltering heat in Sharjah.
Gurbaz set the tone from the off with his stand of 105 from 110 balls, which included 10 fours and three sixes, and put together a 101-run partnership with Rahmat Shah (50).
Nandre Burger eventually took Gurbaz, but Azmatullah Omarzai kept the pressure on with his unbeaten 86, bringing up his fastest ODI fifty, as they finished on 311-4.
With the intimidating target set, South Africa's chase got off to a decent start through Temba Bavuma (38) and Tony de Zorzi (31), but Afghanistan's bowlers soon stepped up their game.
Rashid Khan (5-19) and Nangeyalia Kharote (4-26) gave their opponents little to work with as none of the final seven batters hit double figures, with South Africa slumping to 134 all out in the 35th over.
Data Debrief: A historic stand
Gurbaz's century was his seventh in ODIs, breaking Mohammad Shahzad's record, while Shah brought up his 29th half-century in their brilliant stand.
Afghanistan's 177-run win against SA is their largest margin of victory in terms of runs in ODIs, beating their 154-win against Zimbabwe. It was also the tenth time they topped 300 in ODI cricket, and the first against South Africa.
CWI announces re-election of Azim Bassarath as vice president
Cricket West Indies (CWI) today announced the re-election of Azim Bassarath to the role of Vice President of its Board of Directors.
Pursuant to the CWI Articles of Association, a Special Meeting of Members was convened on Friday for the sole purpose of electing a new Vice President.
At the close of nominations, Mr. Bassarath was the sole candidate, having been nominated by the Jamaica Cricket Association and Leeward Islands Cricket Board. The nominations were circulated as customary, and every territorial board, which constitutes the shareholders, was adequately notified.
Of his re-election Azim Bassarath said, “I’m excited to return to my duties for the good of West Indies cricket, working alongside my dedicated colleagues at Cricket West Indies. Since March of 2023 when myself and Dr Shallow took over, we made great strides in the most popular format of the game – T20 and we are determined to continue making these strides in the other two international formats. I have committed and remain committed to serving with integrity and respect for the process, while upholding the best governance practices. This vote of confidence signals that we can move forward with the business of cricket and deliver the results shareholders and fans across the region and around the world are eager to see, under the leadership of Dr. Kishore Shallow.”
All Territorial Boards except the Guyana Cricket Board attended the Special Meeting of the Members. Guided by its Articles of Association, CWI reaffirms its unwavering commitment to democratic principles and transparency.
At the close of the meeting, CWI President Dr. Kishore Shallow thanked members for their participation and reiterated calls for unity amongst West Indies Cricket stakeholders.
CWI will host its next quarterly board meeting on September 28, 2024. The meeting will be held in Trinidad and Tobago.
Chandimal and Karunaratne hand Sri Lanka comfortable advantage
Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne forged a 147-run partnership to propel hosts Sri Lanka to a lead of 202 on day three of the first Test against New Zealand.
Chandimal (61) and Karunaratne (83) notched 12 fours between them, having seen Pathum Nissanka (two) fall inside the first two overs to Will O'Rourke (3-37).
New Zealand resumed on 255-4 but were restricted to adding just 95 runs to their overnight total, with Prabath Jayasuriya (4-136) starring for the hosts.
Nissanka's early dismissal handed the tourists a lifeline, only for Chandimal and Karunaratne to take centre stage and increase Sri Lanka's advantage.
Karunaratne's innings came to an end after being bowled out by Ajaz Patel (1-68), with Chandimal following his partner in the following over.
However, steadying knocks from both Angelo Mathews (34 not out) and Dhananjaya de Silva (34 not out) saw the Lions inch toward their hard-earned lead at stumps.
Data Debrief: Double trouble for Sri Lanka
Chandimal and Karunaratne took the fight to New Zealand, with their respective innings coming to a close with impressive numbers to show for it.
Karunaratne ended with a strike rate of 65.35 from the 127 deliveries he faced, while Chandimal finished on 40.67 having batted against 23 more balls than his team-mate.
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