England pacer Mark Wood makes minor adjustment for stress-free run-up

England fast bowler Mark Wood says he has lengthened his run-up in order to reduce the ‘stress’ on his body ahead of the upcoming series against Sri Lanka. The 28-year-old paceman is set to be part of the England team that takes on the Sri Lankans on Wednesday in the first of five one-day international matches.

Wood has the unique ability to generate pace despite a short-run up, much like Jasprit Bumrah does for India. This is one of the key reasons why Mark Wood has been a regular feature in England’s limited-overs setup. However, his run-up has also led to a bout of injuries, the most troublesome being his left heel, on which he was forced to undergo numerous surgeries.

With the World Cup taking place in his own backyard next year, Wood is hoping to capitalize on being back in fitness by reducing the tendency to get injured. His formula – a longer and smoother run-up, which hopefully results in a longer and smoother run for him in the England side. The speedster has bagged 34 wickets in as many ODI appearances for England, with career-best figures of 4-33 against Australia last summer.

I pushed my run-up back a bit and felt better: Wood

Mark Wood has been working on his run-up with England bowling coach Chris Silverwood. “You can quickly disappear if you are trying to get a wicket every ball,” Wood, who plays for Durham, was quoted as saying in BBC Sport. “I said to him [Silverwood] that, although I’d played a few games for England, I hadn’t taken loads of wickets. I’d taken one in a game, two in a game but I hadn’t had that five-wicket haul.”

“I was putting more stress than I needed to my body and having to ramp it up to get to my top speed. I just pushed my run-up back a bit and felt I could cruise into it a little bit better, and look for more rhythm rather than being at the top end forcing it,” he added.

England are scheduled to play 5 ODIs and a lone T20I against Sri Lanka, before taking them on in 3 Test matches.

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