England pacer Mark Wood is hoping a return to action in the County Championship next month will help him prove his fitness ahead of the highly anticipated Ashes tour at the end of this year.
Wood hasn’t played Test cricket since August last year and is looking to regain full fitness from a knee injury he sustained at the ICC Champions Trophy in February this year.
The 35-year-old revealed he was close to making his return during the recently concluded fifth Test against India at home, but an incident during training set his plans back.
“The injury is all right. It was 50-50 whether I was going to make the India Test, but I was bowling at Lord’s and then, the next day, my knee swelled up again so I had it drained and since then it’s just been about taking things easy looking ahead to the winter,” Wood said on the Stick to Cricket podcast.
Durham, Wood’s county side, is scheduled to play Essex (from September 8), Worcestershire (September 15) and Yorkshire (September 24) next month, and the England quick is hoping to play ‘one or two’ of those matches.
“I’ll try and play one or two of those matches. I’ve been well looked after and very cautious. I value it as they’ve got this end game where they want me to get to Australia. But I said to (England coach Brendon McCullum) Baz McCullum, I can’t just bowl to a net for four months, I’ll go insane,” Wood said.
“There’s a bowling camp in Loughborough in a tent – getting acclimatised there ready for Perth – then I’ll go over to Perth early with a couple of bowlers. We’ll arrive about a week early to prepare and get acclimatised,” he added.
As England looks to win its first Ashes series in Australia since 2011, Wood will be crucial for his team, which includes fellow quicks Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, Brydon Carse and Chris Woakes (subject to fitness).
In the most recent Ashes series in 2023, held in England, Wood picked up 14 wickets in just three Tests, and his searing pace will add a lethal dimension to the visiting side’s bowling attack.
The first Ashes Test begins in Perth on November 21.
Published on Aug 28, 2025
