England’s Mark Wood willing to do what it takes to play this summer as plans take shape

The England and Wales Cricket Board have made significant progress in their plans to stage matches behind closed doors over the last few weeks

Mark Wood would be willing to take extended time away from his young family if that is what it takes to play international cricket this summer.

Over the last two weeks the England and Wales Cricket Board have made significant progress in their plans to stage matches behind closed doors. While still reliant on government guidance over coronavirus and easing of lockdown, playing series against West Indies, Pakistan, Australia and Ireland after 1 July are all on the table as part of wide-ranging plans that have been put to players over the last week.

From regular health tests to creating secure environments at the two prospective venues, Old Trafford (Manchester) and the Ageas Bowl (Southampton), fulfilling some of the fixtures, and thus helping the ECB avoid a catastrophic loss of £380m if no cricket is played, is a lot closer than it seemed a month ago, though still dependent on a range of factors beyond the ECB's control.

One part of the plan specific to back-to-back series against West Indies and Pakistan starting from 8 July would be for players to spend up to nine weeks at the venues, which both boast onsite hotels. Squads could also be up to 30 strong to cope with the workloads and to provide adequate numbers for intra-squad training.

Wood, 30, who last bowled a ball on 16 February in a Twenty20 against South Africa, believes touring for months on end has made players adapt to spending time away from their families. Provided, of course, players received the necessary assurances.

“I’d be willing to do it,” says Wood. “Being away on tour for long periods of time you sort of get used to it. It would be very hard but as long as the environment is safe, my family are safe and everybody else there is safe then I’d be willing to do it.

“I think everybody in the squad, as long as the conditions are right, would be willing to come back and play some cricket. We’re desperate to get going. I know it would be a long stint and it would be hard but it would be good to get back out there at the same time.”

Enlarged squads will also provide management the opportunity to have a closer look at players usually on the periphery of the squad. They could even use the opportunity to look at different types of batsmen and bowlers who, for example, could be considered for tours further afield, such as India and Australia in 2021.

Primarily, though, they will be to ensure the players are not overworked, a particular worry after such a long period of inactivity. Wood, for example, would be a prime candidate to be rested intermittently during this period. The fast bowler has enjoyed success over the last two years – a key part of 2019’s World Cup squad and re-emerging as a force in Test cricket – through more considered managing of his output coupled with a fine-tuned recovery programme.

As such, a cricketer with 15 caps over five years who has just got to grips with his back and ankle issues anticipates his appearances are likely to be intermittent should the best case scenario present itself. Nevertheless, he is ready to embrace what already are unique circumstances.

“I think it will be challenging,” admits Wood. “We’ll have a pool of players that we’ll dip into if the Test matches come thick and fast. I think that was the plan anyway certainly looking at my circumstances.

“I wouldn’t have played every game, I’d be in and out of the side to manage my workload and manage my body. I think that will probably be the same for the all the fast bowlers, as long as we’ve got a good pool which I think we have at the moment. Coming in and out of the side shouldn’t be a problem. We’ve never been in these circumstances before where we don’t know what’s going to happen on the down days – I guess you can’t just go home so maybe you’ll have to train in small groups. It will be interesting to see how it does work.”