Luke Wood is determined to enjoy his latest lease of life with England and he hopes having a specific role means he is more likely to hang on to his white-ball spot.
A skiddy left-arm swing bowler with decent pace, Wood earned seven England caps between September 2022 and September 2023 but he was behind Sam Curran, David Willey and Tymal Mills in the pecking order.
Wood drifted out of contention until he was recalled to the T20 side in June and he has played in eight of their nine games since then, although England have rarely had all their fast bowlers available.
Where he fits in when everyone is fit and firing is not uppermost in Wood’s mind even if the 30-year-old feels more a part of the team unit now, offering a big threat especially with the new ball.
“Since coming back in, I’ve probably felt like I have more of a defined role as opposed to last time,” Wood said. “Where I sit in the pecking order, I couldn’t tell you.
“It was tough when I was out of the team. Because I’m not necessarily the youngest player, part of me felt the chance had gone but there’s always that glimmer of hope in the back of your mind.
“Being a left-armer, you never feel quite out of it. But when the call came this summer it was probably a bit more of a surprise. Since then, I’ve tried to treat it differently to last time.
“Last time I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well, whereas this time I’m just trying to enjoy it.”
Wood was an ever-present in England’s rain-affected T20 series win in New Zealand, with Jofra Archer a notable absentee as he readies himself for the Ashes starting next month.
Wood hopes he has done enough to keep his squad place for January’s tour of Sri Lanka followed by the T20 World Cup, which is set to begin the following month, but he said: “I’d never say you’re certain.”
For now, Wood is seeking a first ODI appearance in nearly two years when England take on the Black Caps in Mount Maunganui on Sunday, with his chances boosted by Archer being absent for the series opener.
Having played in all five seasons of The Hundred, Wood has been restricted to just six career List A appearances, while he has not played first-class cricket in two years.
Wood, who has played in several T20 franchise leagues around the world including the Indian Premier League last year, said: “I’m not retired as such (from red-ball cricket).
“But it’s difficult with everything going on around the world and then fitting it into the summer schedule. I’m 30 now so something had to give at some point.
“My white-ball cricket is probably leaps and bounds ahead of my red-ball cricket so it’s on the back seat at the moment.”
