Mark Wood admits he loves nothing more than a duel with the world’s best one-day players after outwitting five of them in the last three weeks.
England’s fastest bowler is developing a reputation as the team’s go-to man when the opposition’s key batsmen are at the crease.
In the Champions Trophy alone, he has claimed the wickets of New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, Australia skipper Steve Smith, and Smith’s team-mates David Warner and Glenn Maxwell.
In the series against South Africa that preceded the tournament, he took a single wicket, but it was a pretty good one – Hashim Amla, who has 25 one-day international hundreds to his name.
Wood told Standard Sport: “I take huge confidence from it because they are the types of players you want to get out. I don’t know whether – subconsciously – it makes me lift my game, to try to make sure I am the bowler who gets these guys out and to be ‘the man’ for this team.
“It’s a pleasing statistic and one I’d like to maintain, because I put the onus on myself to be the man to do it. We have such a good attack that any one of us can get the best players out, but I want to make sure it’s me who does the job for the team and the captain.
“I learned a lot from the match against South Africa at Headingley last month. I tried to steam in and take wickets with the new ball but class players like Amla and AB De Villiers pick you off, so I changed my approach.
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“I tried to bowl a little tighter and be more consistent. That rhythm has helped me and I got wickets against Australia.”
Wood’s four for 33 against Australia to ensure England approach their semi-final against Pakistan in Cardiff on Wednesday with a perfect record. Batsman Jason Roy is vulnerable after three low scores in the tournament, and he could be replaced by Jonny Bairstow.
