Mark Wood

One of the promising hit the deck bowlers to have emerged from England, Mark Wood hails from Ashington from Northumberland which also the birthplace of his fast bowling idol Stephen Harmison. Though not as hostile as Harmison, Wood is still a fine bowler who can click 140 on a consistent basis and hurry batsmen with his pace. Though he can swing the ball he relies more on his pace to unsettle opposition batters.

Hailing from Northumberland, Wood played for them between 2008-10. He went onto join Durham in 2011 and impressed in his very first season bagging 19 wickets at an impressive average of 21.63. It was during a time when Paul Collingwood was promoting the young talents that helped Wood immensely and he went onto play a vital role in Durham’s County Championship victory in 2013. He finished the season with 27 wickets under his belt. 

On the back of some consistent performances in the domestic circuit, Wood bagged his maiden Test call-up during the series against New Zealand in 2015. He was quite exceptional in his debut series and bagged 14 wickets in the series. Despite his brilliant debut series, he was overlooked for the 3rd Ashes Test in favor of Steve Finn. Despite some injuries here and there, Wood continued to be on the selection radar owing to his skiddy nature and pace. 

Injuries have been a part and parcel of any fast bowler’s life and Mark Wood is no exception. He emerged as a potent option for England post the 2015 World Cup debacle and his pace made all the difference. He did play a couple of Test against South Africa in 2017 but was a shadow of himself. He was again troubled by injuries and had to miss the Ashes campaign in Australia. 

Wood was there in Australia but was plying his trade for the England Lions in limited-overs matches. However, the selectors weren’t quite convinced whether Wood had that fitness level to bowl in a five-day match. Wood has always been a good bowler for England and was quite exceptional during their triumphant 2019 World Cup campaign and bagged 18 wickets in the quadrennial event. Wood was snapped up by the Chennai Super Kings in the 2018 IPL Auctions but managed to play just a solitary match.