Mark Wood reveals key change in England team from previous disastrous Ashes tour

Mark Wood believes that England’s battery of fast bowlers and the “confidence and belief” instilled by Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes give them hope of winning the Ashes in Australia.

England are hoping to win an Ashes series on Australian soil for the first time since 2010/11, having failed to secure a single Test victory on their three trips Down Under since.

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Wood was part of the squad beaten 4-0 in 2021/22, an affair that was heavily disrupted by Covid restrictions that spelt the end of Chris Silverwood’s tenure as head coach.

Captain Joe Root soon followed as McCullum and Stokes were installed with a fresh mindset that has since improved England’s fortunes in Test cricket, though a series win over Australia or India still eludes them.

Seamer Wood missed the entire English summer as he worked his way back from injury but is in line to be fit to feature in the opening Test in Perth later in November, and believes the tourists are equipped to challenge Australia.

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“I can truly say there’s a quiet confidence within the group,” Wood told The Guardian. “It’s a different feel this time. Last time we had Covid and problems behind the scenes.

“Under this coach [Brendon McCullum] and this captain [Ben Stokes] there’s a specific way of playing and we’re going with more confidence and belief.”

Wood, one of the world’s fastest bowlers, is part of an England attack that has placed a premium on pace over the last few years, with Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue, Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts providing the seam stocks in the squad.

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Captain Stokes will also be a key figure as an all-rounder, and Wood says that the side have used an “Australia blueprint” to try and build an attack capable of winning in the country.

“It’s about having a collection of bowlers who can come in if anyone needs resting or there are injuries,” the 35-year-old explained.

“We want a battery of fast bowlers and we’ve tried to change from the norm of England, where there are lots of seamers, to Australia’s vision of fast bowling.

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“Look at Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood: they can all bowl at 90[mph] or in the high 80s and they’ve been especially consistent and relentless. So we’re going there with a bit of an Australia blueprint to see if we can replicate that and put their batters under pressure like they’ve done with ours.”

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